kyxu
03-07-2010, 03:32 PM
Love bids farewell with fourth-straight A-10 Title, conquest of Bonnies, 93-72
by Mike Damone
It was a nearly storybook scenario for the #25 Xavier Musketeers. The program began the afternoon saying goodbye to its lone senior Jason Love in his final home game, underscored by the buzz of possibly clinching a fourth-consecutive Atlantic 10 regular season title.
Well...a share of the title.
But considering a handful of senior night shakeups across college basketball, it was hardly a disappointment for the Musketeers, as they led the St. Bonaventure Bonnies wire-to-wire, aided by 14 points and nine rebounds from Love, on their way to a 93-72 conquest Saturday afternoon at the Cintas Center.
The win gave the Musketeers (23-7, 14-2) a share of the Atlantic 10 regular season title with Temple, and capped an undefeated season at home for the first time since the 1998-99 season when Xavier went a perfect 15-0 at the Cincinnati Gardens.
Dante Jackson (11 pts, 2 reb) splashed a three to start the scoring, and the Musketeers never looked back, racing out to a 26-6 lead less than 10 minutes into the game. Jamel McLean (15 pts, 9 reb) led the early charge, scoring eight points and pulling down three rebounds during that span.
The Bonnies (14-15, 7-9) fought back, trimming Xavier’s lead with 1:23 left before the break, 38-30. Chris Matthews (14 pts, 3 reb, 6 ast) led the Bonnies with some hot-shooting in the first half, and his fastbreak three brought St. Bonaventure to within eight.
Xavier would quell the Bonnies’ rally, scoring six of the final eight points of the first half, including a jumper from Terrell Holloway (9 pts, 10 ast) just before the buzzer, to keep Xavier on top, 44-32. The Musketeers were able to hold St. Bonaventure star Andrew Nicholson (21 pts, 3 reb) to just six first-half points.
Holloway started the second half with a three, and Jackson extended Xavier’s lead back to 19, 54-35, with another triple with 17:15 to play. Nicholson later cut Xavier’s lead to 17, 63-46, before Mark Lyons (10 pts, 3 ast) dropped a three to put Xavier back up 20.
After a long McLean rebound on the Bonnies’ next possession, Jordan Crawford (22 pts, 4 reb) found Kenny Frease (3 pts, 2 reb) for a jam on the fastbreak to put Xavier up 22 with 11:29 left.
A Nicholson dunk to cap a 6-0 St. Bonaventure run brought the Bonnies to within 15, and a three from Ogo Adegboye (10 pts, 3 reb) cut Xavier’s lead to 14, 76-62, with under six minutes remaining. But Crawford answered with a three and later scored on a fastbreak to put Xavier back up by 20, 82-62.
Chris Mack began to empty his bench, and Love exited the Cintas Center floor to an ovation and 105 career wins. Love also never saw any of his Xavier teams loss at home to an Atlantic 10 foe.
Some of the Xavier walk-ons got in on Saturday afternoon’s action, with Kevin Feeney (3 points) knocking down a three to put Xavier up 21, and Johnny Mazza (2 points) hitting a jumper to provide Xavier’s final tally.
The Musketeers had five players in double figures, led by Crawford’s game-high 22 points, followed by 15 from McLean and 14 from Love. Jackson and Lyons added 11 and 10, respectively.
Holloway tied a career-high with 10 assists to go with his nine points, while Love narrowly missed recording a double-double in his final home game, though his nine boards tied for the game-high with teammate McLean.
Nicholson led the Bonnies with 21, followed by 14 from Matthews, 11 from Jonathan Hall and 10 from Adegboye.
The Musketeers conclude their regular season on a season-high seven-game winning streak, and will enter next week’s Atlantic 10 Tournament in Atlantic City as a 2 seed. It is the first time since the 2005-06 season Xavier did not earn the one seed for the conference tournament, which is also the last time Xavier won the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
Xavier will now face off against the winner of the 10 seed versus 7 seed match-up on Friday at 6:30 p.m., which features the George Washington Colonials versus the Dayton Flyers. Xavier defeated the Colonials at the Smith Center, 76-69, in January, and split the season series with the Flyers, with each team winning on its respective home court.
by Mike Damone
It was a nearly storybook scenario for the #25 Xavier Musketeers. The program began the afternoon saying goodbye to its lone senior Jason Love in his final home game, underscored by the buzz of possibly clinching a fourth-consecutive Atlantic 10 regular season title.
Well...a share of the title.
But considering a handful of senior night shakeups across college basketball, it was hardly a disappointment for the Musketeers, as they led the St. Bonaventure Bonnies wire-to-wire, aided by 14 points and nine rebounds from Love, on their way to a 93-72 conquest Saturday afternoon at the Cintas Center.
The win gave the Musketeers (23-7, 14-2) a share of the Atlantic 10 regular season title with Temple, and capped an undefeated season at home for the first time since the 1998-99 season when Xavier went a perfect 15-0 at the Cincinnati Gardens.
Dante Jackson (11 pts, 2 reb) splashed a three to start the scoring, and the Musketeers never looked back, racing out to a 26-6 lead less than 10 minutes into the game. Jamel McLean (15 pts, 9 reb) led the early charge, scoring eight points and pulling down three rebounds during that span.
The Bonnies (14-15, 7-9) fought back, trimming Xavier’s lead with 1:23 left before the break, 38-30. Chris Matthews (14 pts, 3 reb, 6 ast) led the Bonnies with some hot-shooting in the first half, and his fastbreak three brought St. Bonaventure to within eight.
Xavier would quell the Bonnies’ rally, scoring six of the final eight points of the first half, including a jumper from Terrell Holloway (9 pts, 10 ast) just before the buzzer, to keep Xavier on top, 44-32. The Musketeers were able to hold St. Bonaventure star Andrew Nicholson (21 pts, 3 reb) to just six first-half points.
Holloway started the second half with a three, and Jackson extended Xavier’s lead back to 19, 54-35, with another triple with 17:15 to play. Nicholson later cut Xavier’s lead to 17, 63-46, before Mark Lyons (10 pts, 3 ast) dropped a three to put Xavier back up 20.
After a long McLean rebound on the Bonnies’ next possession, Jordan Crawford (22 pts, 4 reb) found Kenny Frease (3 pts, 2 reb) for a jam on the fastbreak to put Xavier up 22 with 11:29 left.
A Nicholson dunk to cap a 6-0 St. Bonaventure run brought the Bonnies to within 15, and a three from Ogo Adegboye (10 pts, 3 reb) cut Xavier’s lead to 14, 76-62, with under six minutes remaining. But Crawford answered with a three and later scored on a fastbreak to put Xavier back up by 20, 82-62.
Chris Mack began to empty his bench, and Love exited the Cintas Center floor to an ovation and 105 career wins. Love also never saw any of his Xavier teams loss at home to an Atlantic 10 foe.
Some of the Xavier walk-ons got in on Saturday afternoon’s action, with Kevin Feeney (3 points) knocking down a three to put Xavier up 21, and Johnny Mazza (2 points) hitting a jumper to provide Xavier’s final tally.
The Musketeers had five players in double figures, led by Crawford’s game-high 22 points, followed by 15 from McLean and 14 from Love. Jackson and Lyons added 11 and 10, respectively.
Holloway tied a career-high with 10 assists to go with his nine points, while Love narrowly missed recording a double-double in his final home game, though his nine boards tied for the game-high with teammate McLean.
Nicholson led the Bonnies with 21, followed by 14 from Matthews, 11 from Jonathan Hall and 10 from Adegboye.
The Musketeers conclude their regular season on a season-high seven-game winning streak, and will enter next week’s Atlantic 10 Tournament in Atlantic City as a 2 seed. It is the first time since the 2005-06 season Xavier did not earn the one seed for the conference tournament, which is also the last time Xavier won the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
Xavier will now face off against the winner of the 10 seed versus 7 seed match-up on Friday at 6:30 p.m., which features the George Washington Colonials versus the Dayton Flyers. Xavier defeated the Colonials at the Smith Center, 76-69, in January, and split the season series with the Flyers, with each team winning on its respective home court.