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Flyers return favor, drill Xavier, 90-65 |
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Feb 07, 2010 - 1:44 PM - by kyxu
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Flyers return favor, drill Xavier, 90-65
by Mike Damone
Throughout the course of Saturday’s game at UD Arena, it was difficult to tell which team sat atop the Atlantic 10 standings, and which team was fighting for its NCAA Tournament life. The Dayton Flyers entered Saturday’s contest against their hated rival after losing three of their last five games, and needing a victory in a big way.
The Flyers (16-6, 5-3) not only got what they needed, but looked dominant in the process, ripping their archrival Xavier, 90-65, and handing the Musketeers (16-7, 8-2) their worst since they fell 80-49 in 2000 to the La Salle Explorers.
The Flyers came out with guns blazing in the opening seconds and dominated early, hitting six of their first eight shots in building a 17-3 lead over the first 5:37 of the game. Dayton, not known for its three-point shooting, connected on their first three offerings from distance to put Xavier in a big hole early. The Flyers finished the game shooting 53 percent from deep.
The affair also began inauspiciously for the Musketeers when Jason Love (7 pts, 6 reb) picked up two fouls in the first minute of the ballgame, and back-up center Kenny Frease (0 pts, 2 reb) picked up two of his own before the 16-minute mark of the first half.
The Musketeers answered with a drive and bucket from Terrell Holloway (12 pts, 0 ast, 4 to) and a triple from Jordan Crawford (25 pts, 4 reb, 5 ast) to trim UD’s advantage to nine, 17-8, but the early, modest spurt was as close as the Musketeers would get all game, as Dayton’s shooting and dribble penetration was too much for Xavier to contain.
The Flyers shot 56 percent on the afternoon, including a superhuman 72 percent in the second half. Dayton’s defense was equally dominant, holding the Musketeers to just 37 percent shooting and 15 points below Xavier’s average offensive output.
A hoop and foul from Chris Wright (17 pts, 9 reb, 3 blk) stretched Dayton’s lead out to 14 with under seven minutes left in the first half, and Mickey Perry (7 pts, 2 reb) stroked a three on the fastbreak to give the Flyers their largest lead of the half, 31-14.
After Jamel McLean (7 pts, 7 reb) drove and scored to trim Xavier’s deficit to 11, 37-26, the Musketeers got the ball back with a chance to cut UD’s lead to single digits again. But a Holloway turnover to London Warren (7 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast) instead allowed the Flyers to stretch the lead further when Warren hit both his free throws after getting fouled going in for the fastbreak layup to provide the halftime margin, 39-26.
The Musketeers scored first out of the intermission to trim UD’s lead again, 39-28, but the Xavier defense gave it right back when Warren drove and scored. A Rob Lowery (16 pts, 4 reb, 5 ast) three stretched the Flyers’ lead back out to 16 over five minutes into the second half, but a pair of three’s from Dante Jackson (9 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast) and Crawford brought the Musketeers to within 10 with 13:51 to play.
After UD brought their lead back to 13, Jackson canned another three from the corner to cut their deficit to 10, but the Musketeers would get no closer as the Flyers took off. A six-point jaunt spurred by Marcus Johnson (10 pts, 4 reb) gave the Flyers a 17-point lead, 66-49. Paul Williams (7 points) and Devon Searcy (4 pts, 8 reb) each scored inside to extend the UD lead.
A seven-point run by the Flyers stretched their lead to 21, 82-61, when Chris Johnson (18 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast) knocked down a three, followed by a jam by Wright and a pair of free throws from Marcus Johnson.
The roof continued to tumble in on Xavier, as the Flyers never let up, closing the game on a 15-4 run to bury the Musketeers.
Crawford led all scorers, a small consolation for Xavier, with 24 points. Holloway was the only other Musketeer to crack double-figures, adding 12. Dayton boasted four double-figure scorers, led by 18 from Chris Johnson. Wright followed up with 17, Lowery with 16 and Marcus Johnson with 10.
Similar to last month’s contest, the Flyers dominated the Musketeers on the glass, winning the battle of the boards, 42-24.
Xavier will now take a “break” from its conference schedule and head to Gainesville to take on the Florida Gators next Saturday at 6 p.m. The Gators (17-6, 6-3) are coming off a 69-62 win over Mississippi State. Xavier and Florida have clashed just once before during the 1959-60 season, with Xavier emerging victorious.
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1 Reply | 85 Views
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Crawford-led rally helps Xavier withstand UMass, 87-79 |
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Feb 03, 2010 - 10:41 PM - by kyxu
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Crawford-led rally helps Xavier withstand UMass, 87-79
by Mike Damone
The road has been inhospitable to Xavier this season. The Musketeers are an 0-fer so far on their opponents’ floor in the non-conference, but have won three of their first four road contests in the Atlantic 10. None have been easy, however, including Wednesday night’s affair in Amherst where Xavier needed a late 9-0 run to pull away from a pesky UMass team and escape with a vital 87-79 win.
The Musketeers (16-6, 8-1) parlayed an efficient first half of 64 percent shooting into a fitful second half that saw Xavier score just 10 points in the half’s first 10 minutes. Xavier’s 17-point halftime lead quickly shrank, then evaporated on the back of 18 second-half points from Ricky Harris (24 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast). UMass’ dribble penetration gave Xavier problems in the second half, and their ball pressure prevented the Musketeers from getting any good looks inside.
UMass (8-14, 2-6) took its first lead of the second half off a free throw from Anthony Gurley (6 pts, 3 reb) with 7:28 left in the game, and the two teams went back and forth over the next three minutes.
A layup by Terrell Vinson (11 pts, 3 reb) gave UMass a one-point lead, 69-68, with 4:37 to go before Jordan Crawford (25 pts, 4 reb) rescued the Musketeers. Crawford quickly answered Vinson with a three from the corner to put Xavier up two, then added another wide open three to give the Musketeers some breathing room, 74-69, with 3:29 to go.
After a rare empty UMass possession, Dante Jackson (5 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast) found Jamel McLean (14 pts, 11 reb) inside for the basket and foul to give Xavier an 8-point lead and seemingly suck the life from the UMass upset bid.
In an attempt to give themselves more possessions, the Minutemen sped the game up with a press, but Xavier cut through and scored with ease to keep UMass at arm’s length.
A short jumper from Harris cut Xavier’s lead to five, 84-79, but only 20 seconds remained as Terrell Holloway (16 pts, 6 reb, 5 ast) and Crawford sealed the deal going 3-for-4 from the line in the final seconds.
In the first half, it looked as if Xavier might get a break for a change. After UMass took an early 13-10 advantage with 15:53 to go, the Musketeers took off an 18-0 run to take a 28-13 lead. UMass started the game hot, going toe-to-toe offensively with Xavier, but went clank city over four minutes, leading to multiple Musketeer fastbreak points.
McLean led the Musketeers on the run, scoring seven points and a pulling down a pair of boards. UMass would cut the lead to seven, 38-31, off a hoop and foul from Hashim Bailey (6 pts, 4 reb) with 3:26 to go before the break, but 10-2 Musketeer run closed out the half, 50-33.
Jason Love (15 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast) book-ended the run with a layup and a pair of free throws, while Crawford and Holloway each knocked down a triple.
Crawford led four Musketeers in double figures with a game-high 25 points. Holloway added 16, followed by 15 from Love. McLean rounded out the scoring with a double-double of 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Four Minutemen scored in double figures, led by Harris’ 24. Javorn Farrell (12 pts, 3 reb, 4 ast) notched 12, followed by Vinson 11 and 10 from Freddie Riley (10 pts, 5 reb).
UMass shot a respectable 42 percent from the field, but went just 7-for-32 from three. Xavier shot nearly 60 percent, but were just 66 percent from the free-throw line, including an uncharacteristic 3-for-8 from the charity stripe for Holloway.
The all-important road win keeps Xavier atop the Atlantic 10 standings for at least another few days.
Xavier remains on the road, but won’t have to travel far for its next stop, up I-75 to UD Arena to take on their conference rival Dayton Flyers on Saturday at noon. The Flyers (15-6, 4-3) dispatched the St. Bonaventure Bonnies, 75-58, last Saturday in Olean, NY. Xavier won the last meeting between the heated rivals, outlasting the Flyers, 78-74.
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0 Replies | 98 Views
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Dominant second half buries Fordham, 108-60 |
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Jan 31, 2010 - 8:03 PM - by kyxu
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Dominant second half buries Fordham, 108-60
by Mike Damone
With a string of road challenges facing the Musketeers in the coming days, it’s vital to their conference and postseason hopes to take care of business in the games they should. Even in an Atlantic 10 conference that’s more competitive than it has been in years, there’s not much more of a “gimme” than what the Musketeers encountered Sunday afternoon, as Xavier overcame a sluggish opening half to blow the horns off the hapless Fordham Rams, 108-60, in Cincinnati.
The contest did not begin as painless as planned for Xavier (15-6, 7-1). With the Musketeers building an early 14-4 lead just over five minutes into the game, the Rams (2-18, 0-8) went on a 9-0 run to stun Xavier early, cutting Fordham’s deficit to one, 14-13. Chris Gaston (23 pts, 9 reb) was a one-man battering Ram for Fordham, scoring six points on the run and tallying 17 in the first half alone.
But while some of his teammates stumbled early, Jordan Crawford (23 pts, 3 ast, 3 stl) kept the Musketeers ahead despite the Rams’ charge. The sophomore from Detroit was able to get to the rim with ease, cutting through Fordham’s defense for 17 first-half points of his own. Crawford was 6-for-7 in the opening half, including a perfect 5-for-5 from the free-throw line.
With the Rams hanging in the game, trailing by just six, 28-22, with 4:17 left in the first half, Xavier embarked on an 11-2 run to effectively give them control, 39-24. The Musketeers held a modest 13-point advantage, 45-32, at the break.
It got ugly relatively quickly for the Rams in the second half. Xavier scored the first six points, and soon built a 23-point lead, 59-36, when Terrell Holloway (5 pts, 10 ast) stepped in front of a Fordham pass and found Crawford on the fastbreak, where he finished with a reverse slam.
From there, the Xavier onslaught snowballed, as the Musketeers went on a 20-2 run to bring their lead to 38, 78-40. Jamel McLean (16 pts, 7 reb) put Xavier up 31 with a slam off a feed from Crawford, and Brad Redford (11 points) finished the run with a three, thanks to an Andrew Taylor (4 pts, 4 reb) offensive rebound.
The Rams had no answer, with Gaston bottled up in the second half, and Brenton Butler (26 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast) left to fend for himself against an inspired Xavier effort. With Fordham struggling from the field, the Musketeers’ lead continued to grow. Even when Chris Mack emptied his bench, the Rams saw little respite, as the Xavier reserves kept the hits coming.
In just two minutes of action, Joe Hughes (7 pts, 2 reb) scored seven points, including a free throw to put Xavier at the century mark for the third time this season. The Musketeers dished a season-high 26 assists on 39 field goals en route to a season-high 108 points. The Musketeers shot 58 percent from the field.
Crawford led Xavier with 23 points, followed by 16 from McLean. After recording his first career double-double last game, Kenny Frease (14 pts, 8 reb) narrowly missed his second, scoring 14 points to go with eight boards. Redford rounded out Xavier’s double-digit scorers with 11.
The Rams were much less offensively balanced, with Gaston and Butler accounting for 49 of Fordham’s 60 points. No other Ram scored more than five points, and only five players from Fordham scored at all.
Xavier has now won its last three games by an average close to 32 points. Such lopsided victories will likely cease as Xavier spends its next three games on the road. The trek will begin with a visit to Amherst on Wednesday at 7 p.m. to take on the UMass Minutemen. The Minutemen (8-13, 2-5) are coming off a 72-58 loss to the Charlotte 49ers. In last season’s meeting in Cincinnati, Xavier edged UMass 82-80.
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0 Replies | 102 Views
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