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kyxu
12-29-2009, 10:56 PM
Musketeers close ’09 with dismantling of LSU, 89-65
by Mike Damone

Tuesday night’s conquest marked a collection of celebrations for Xavier. The Musketeers (8-4) delivered a win for head coach Chris Mack on the eve of his birthday, established a Cintas Center-record for longest home winning streak at 16, found respite from the palpitations of the previous three games by winning one in decisive fashion, and they finished 2009 the same way they christened it, with a decisive victory over a foe from a “Big 6” conference, thumping the LSU Tigers of the SEC, 89-65, at the Cintas Center.

After an underwhelming victory followed a disheartening loss in Indianapolis, Mack felt an adjustment to the rotation was in order, going with an unorthodox three-guard, two-center starting lineup to combat LSU’s talented forwards in Tasmin Mitchell and Storm Warren. The change proved positive almost immediately, as the Musketeers staked a double-digit lead in the first 10 minutes and never left the contest in doubt, winning handily and consecutively for the first time since mid-November.

No Musketeer was more responsible for Xavier’s dominating performance than point guard Terrell Holloway (20 pts, 6 ast, 3 reb), who scored 16 points in the first half, along with three assists, and was instrumental in the Musketeers’ game-deciding 15-1 run that put them up, 28-13, with 8:25 left in the first half. Holloway ran the offense masterfully, while driving and finishing in traffic, and was almost as disruptive in the defensive backcourt, forcing three LSU turnovers.

The lightning-quick, backcourt trio of Holloway, Jordan Crawford (17 pts, 4 ast) and Mark Lyons (12 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast) combined for 49 points and 12 assists to just a single turnover. But Xavier’s backcourt wasn’t the singular force in Tuesday’s conquest, with Xavier owning the Tigers on the boards, 54-37, led by a career-high 12 rebounds from Kenny Frease (7 pts, 12 reb).

Jamel McLean (10 pts, 10 reb) notched his second double-double of the season, and finished with seven offensive rebounds. McLean was responsible for Xavier creating separation early from the Tigers, keeping several possessions alive with offensive boards and stick-backs.

LSU (8-4) struggled shooting in the first half at a 32 percent clip. The Musketeers made the most of the Tigers’ one-and-done futility, putting the game in hand midway through the first half. Brad Redford (8 points) and Crawford splashed back-to-back three’s to put the Musketeers up 16 at the intermission, 46-30.

Xavier quickly stretched its lead to 20, 52-32, when Lyons and Crawford hit consecutive triples from the wing. Holloway fed Frease with a bullet on a fastbreak, and Jason Love (11 pts, 7 reb) followed with a lay-up on the baseline to put Xavier up, 58-34.

The Tigers would trim their deficit on several occasions to under 20, but was unable to get a stop on the defensive end as Xavier attacked each time after an LSU bucket. With the Musketeers leading by 18, 65-47, with 12:03 to play, Holloway picked Mitchell in the paint and found on Crawford on the other end for a hoop and foul to put Xavier’s lead back to 21 with 11:09 left.

The rout was officially on when Frease got a hoop and foul to stretch Xavier’s lead to 28, 78-50, with 7:14 to go, prompting Mack to work his seldom-used reserves into the game’s action. Five Musketeers finished the game in double-figures, led by Holloway’s game-high 20.

Mitchell (18 pts, 8 reb) provided the most concern for the Musketeers heading in to the game, but Xavier built too big of a lead too early on for Mitchell to be a real factor in the game. Bo Spencer led the Tigers with 20, with Warren adding 11.

Xavier will begin a three-game road trip, starting in Winstom-Salem, North Carolina on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. when it takes on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the first installment of the Skip Prosser Classic. The Demon Deacons (9-2) are coming off a 75-60 win over UNC Greensboro on Monday.

American X
12-30-2009, 10:29 AM
Nice job, Damone. Really good iced tea goes great with tiger meat.

Farewell, LSU. This home-and-home series worked out great for Xavier. The win in Baton Rouge last year made the 4 seed.

Some series are better than others (Mississippi State! Crapola!), but has Xavier ever had one work out better than this? Virginia maybe?