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03-14-2010, 02:06 PM
#24 Musketeers can’t trap Spiders, fall in OT, 89-85
by Mike Damone
Xavier taketh...and they also giveth away. Less than 24 hours after the 2-seed #24 Musketeers were beneficiaries of a late, improbable comeback, they became the victims of one.
After a magnificent theft with 15 seconds to go by Dante Jackson (10 pts, 5 reb) on a Xavier (24-8) defensive stand with the Musketeers leading by a pair, Jackson couldn’t quite put the Spiders away at the line, missing the front end of the one-and-one and allowing Richmond’s Player of the Year Kevin Anderson (27 pts, 6 reb) to cut through the Xavier defense with three seconds remaining to tie the Atlantic 10 Semifinal match-up with a layup and send it to overtime.
On Richmond’s first possession, David Gonzalvez (26 pts, 5 ast, 4 reb) drained a three, and the Spiders never looked back, completing the rally to defeat #24 Xavier, 89-85, and advance to the Atlantic 10 Championship game.
Less than two weeks prior, the Spiders (26-7) and Musketeers were involved in an epic double-overtime game at the Cintas Center, which ultimately saw Xavier prevail, 78-76. Xavier did so by being able to hit the big shot when needed, despite both teams being visibly fatigued.
Saturday afternoon was a different story, as the Musketeers came up empty with multiple opportunities to either put the game away in regulation, or tie it in overtime, while Richmond rose to the occasion to advance to the conference championship game – their second such appearance since joining the league for the 2001-02 season.
The Musketeers had their fingerprints all over their first trip to the conference championship game since 2006, leading the Spiders by four with just 55 seconds to go after Jordan Crawford (20 pts, 8 reb, 3 ast) knocked down a short jumper in the paint to put Xavier up, 73-69.
Anderson quickly answered, slicing through the Xavier D with a layup to cut Richmond’s deficit to two with still 46 seconds to go. Terrell Holloway’s (16 pts, 2 ast) offering missed and Richmond set up with a chance to tie or take the lead in the final seconds.
Jackson stepped in and swiped the ball from Gonzalvez and drew the foul, seemingly sending the Musketeers to the line to ice the game. Instead, Jackson’s free throw rimmed out, and Anderson capitalized on the other end, driving right through to the bucket to tie the game at 73, and ultimately send it to overtime.
Richmond went to work quickly in the extra period, as Gonzalvez canned a three to give the Spiders the early lead, 76-73. The Musketeers missed on three attempts before Crawford finally got a pair of free throws to go to trim Xavier’s deficit to one.
But a short jumper by Anderson and a three from Justin Harper after a Holloway free throw put Richmond up five, 81-76, with 2:43 left in overtime. Holloway brought Xavier to within three, 83-80, when he made the first of two free throws, and his miss was even corralled by Jason Love (7 pts, 5 reb) with a chance to further cut into Richmond’s lead, but Love was not able to connect on the good look, and the Spiders got the rebound and went the other way.
Holloway later brought Xavier to within two, 85-83, with a three-pointer, but the Spiders were automatic from the line, connecting on their final six attempts to ice the game, and keep the Musketeers absent from the conference championship game for a fourth-consecutive year.
The first half was as nip-and-tuck as the teams’ prior meeting in February, as the teams tied five times and exchanged the lead twice. The Musketeers were able to generate leads on Richmond, but never able to pull away, due to the Spiders’ tough halfcourt defense.
A three from Jackson gave Xavier a 15-9 lead eight minutes into the game, but five-straight free throws from Gonzalvez cut Xavier’s lead to one, 15-14. A pair of free throws from Holloway and a jumper in the lane from Crawford put Xavier back up five, 21-16, but a 10-2 Spider run gave Richmond a three-point lead.
Gonzalvez and Ryan Butler (8 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast) connected on back-to-back three’s to cap the run. Xavier then responded with a 12-3 run to claim a 37-31 lead. Mark Lyons (13 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast) highlighted the run with a pair of buckets in traffic to put Xavier on top, and the Musketeers held a modest 37-33 lead at the break.
In the opening minutes of the second half, Xavier was able to stretch their advantage to nine thanks to an 8-0 run. Jackson canned a three from the corner to put the Musketeers up seven, and Jamel McLean (11 pts, 7 reb) got a steal and took it in for a jam to give Xavier its largest lead of the afternoon, 45-36.
Xavier maintained a seven-point lead off a Brad Redford (3 points) three with under 13 minutes to go, but Richmond regained the lead with a 9-1 run, capped by five points from Frances Martel (10 pts, 8 reb) with under nine minutes left.
Holloway promptly gave Xavier the lead back with a three, McLean knocked down a pair of free throws to put Xavier back up four, 60-56, but Anderson and Gonzalvez teamed up to re-tie the score at 60. Anderson later cut through for a layup to give Richmond its first lead of the second half, 64-62.
But Xavier responded and took another five-point lead with three minutes to play. After Anderson’s bucket, Lyons knocked down a three, and after the teams exchanged points, Kenny Frease (4 pts, 2 reb) got a jumper to go to put Xavier up 61-56.
Xavier got the ball back still holding on to the five-point advantage with 2:45 to go, but couldn’t add to the lead to put Richmond away. Gonzalvez made them pay, knocking down a three to bring the Spiders to within two, before Crawford gave Xavier a double-digit lead with under a minute to go.
Not known as a great rebounding team, Richmond went toe-to-toe with Xavier, losing the rebounding battle by just a single board, 42-41. Still, the Spiders collected 12 offensive rebounds, some of which led to second-chance treys for Richmond.
The Musketeers missed some big free throws in the final minutes, but still shot 70 percent from the line for the game. The Spiders shot an ungodly 88 percent from the charity stripe, highlighted by a 13-for-14 performance from Gonzalvez.
Anderson recorded a game-high 27 points, followed by Gonzalvez’s 26. Dan Geriot (11 pts, 3 reb) added 11 along with Martel’s 10. Crawford led Xavier with 20 points, followed by 16 from Holloway and 13 from Lyons. McLean and Jackson contributed 11 and 10, respectively.
Though for the fourth-consecutive season the Musketeers failed to reach the conference championship game, they will likely find themselves in the NCAA Tournament for a fifth-straight year. Xavier will find out for certain on Sunday.
by Mike Damone
Xavier taketh...and they also giveth away. Less than 24 hours after the 2-seed #24 Musketeers were beneficiaries of a late, improbable comeback, they became the victims of one.
After a magnificent theft with 15 seconds to go by Dante Jackson (10 pts, 5 reb) on a Xavier (24-8) defensive stand with the Musketeers leading by a pair, Jackson couldn’t quite put the Spiders away at the line, missing the front end of the one-and-one and allowing Richmond’s Player of the Year Kevin Anderson (27 pts, 6 reb) to cut through the Xavier defense with three seconds remaining to tie the Atlantic 10 Semifinal match-up with a layup and send it to overtime.
On Richmond’s first possession, David Gonzalvez (26 pts, 5 ast, 4 reb) drained a three, and the Spiders never looked back, completing the rally to defeat #24 Xavier, 89-85, and advance to the Atlantic 10 Championship game.
Less than two weeks prior, the Spiders (26-7) and Musketeers were involved in an epic double-overtime game at the Cintas Center, which ultimately saw Xavier prevail, 78-76. Xavier did so by being able to hit the big shot when needed, despite both teams being visibly fatigued.
Saturday afternoon was a different story, as the Musketeers came up empty with multiple opportunities to either put the game away in regulation, or tie it in overtime, while Richmond rose to the occasion to advance to the conference championship game – their second such appearance since joining the league for the 2001-02 season.
The Musketeers had their fingerprints all over their first trip to the conference championship game since 2006, leading the Spiders by four with just 55 seconds to go after Jordan Crawford (20 pts, 8 reb, 3 ast) knocked down a short jumper in the paint to put Xavier up, 73-69.
Anderson quickly answered, slicing through the Xavier D with a layup to cut Richmond’s deficit to two with still 46 seconds to go. Terrell Holloway’s (16 pts, 2 ast) offering missed and Richmond set up with a chance to tie or take the lead in the final seconds.
Jackson stepped in and swiped the ball from Gonzalvez and drew the foul, seemingly sending the Musketeers to the line to ice the game. Instead, Jackson’s free throw rimmed out, and Anderson capitalized on the other end, driving right through to the bucket to tie the game at 73, and ultimately send it to overtime.
Richmond went to work quickly in the extra period, as Gonzalvez canned a three to give the Spiders the early lead, 76-73. The Musketeers missed on three attempts before Crawford finally got a pair of free throws to go to trim Xavier’s deficit to one.
But a short jumper by Anderson and a three from Justin Harper after a Holloway free throw put Richmond up five, 81-76, with 2:43 left in overtime. Holloway brought Xavier to within three, 83-80, when he made the first of two free throws, and his miss was even corralled by Jason Love (7 pts, 5 reb) with a chance to further cut into Richmond’s lead, but Love was not able to connect on the good look, and the Spiders got the rebound and went the other way.
Holloway later brought Xavier to within two, 85-83, with a three-pointer, but the Spiders were automatic from the line, connecting on their final six attempts to ice the game, and keep the Musketeers absent from the conference championship game for a fourth-consecutive year.
The first half was as nip-and-tuck as the teams’ prior meeting in February, as the teams tied five times and exchanged the lead twice. The Musketeers were able to generate leads on Richmond, but never able to pull away, due to the Spiders’ tough halfcourt defense.
A three from Jackson gave Xavier a 15-9 lead eight minutes into the game, but five-straight free throws from Gonzalvez cut Xavier’s lead to one, 15-14. A pair of free throws from Holloway and a jumper in the lane from Crawford put Xavier back up five, 21-16, but a 10-2 Spider run gave Richmond a three-point lead.
Gonzalvez and Ryan Butler (8 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast) connected on back-to-back three’s to cap the run. Xavier then responded with a 12-3 run to claim a 37-31 lead. Mark Lyons (13 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast) highlighted the run with a pair of buckets in traffic to put Xavier on top, and the Musketeers held a modest 37-33 lead at the break.
In the opening minutes of the second half, Xavier was able to stretch their advantage to nine thanks to an 8-0 run. Jackson canned a three from the corner to put the Musketeers up seven, and Jamel McLean (11 pts, 7 reb) got a steal and took it in for a jam to give Xavier its largest lead of the afternoon, 45-36.
Xavier maintained a seven-point lead off a Brad Redford (3 points) three with under 13 minutes to go, but Richmond regained the lead with a 9-1 run, capped by five points from Frances Martel (10 pts, 8 reb) with under nine minutes left.
Holloway promptly gave Xavier the lead back with a three, McLean knocked down a pair of free throws to put Xavier back up four, 60-56, but Anderson and Gonzalvez teamed up to re-tie the score at 60. Anderson later cut through for a layup to give Richmond its first lead of the second half, 64-62.
But Xavier responded and took another five-point lead with three minutes to play. After Anderson’s bucket, Lyons knocked down a three, and after the teams exchanged points, Kenny Frease (4 pts, 2 reb) got a jumper to go to put Xavier up 61-56.
Xavier got the ball back still holding on to the five-point advantage with 2:45 to go, but couldn’t add to the lead to put Richmond away. Gonzalvez made them pay, knocking down a three to bring the Spiders to within two, before Crawford gave Xavier a double-digit lead with under a minute to go.
Not known as a great rebounding team, Richmond went toe-to-toe with Xavier, losing the rebounding battle by just a single board, 42-41. Still, the Spiders collected 12 offensive rebounds, some of which led to second-chance treys for Richmond.
The Musketeers missed some big free throws in the final minutes, but still shot 70 percent from the line for the game. The Spiders shot an ungodly 88 percent from the charity stripe, highlighted by a 13-for-14 performance from Gonzalvez.
Anderson recorded a game-high 27 points, followed by Gonzalvez’s 26. Dan Geriot (11 pts, 3 reb) added 11 along with Martel’s 10. Crawford led Xavier with 20 points, followed by 16 from Holloway and 13 from Lyons. McLean and Jackson contributed 11 and 10, respectively.
Though for the fourth-consecutive season the Musketeers failed to reach the conference championship game, they will likely find themselves in the NCAA Tournament for a fifth-straight year. Xavier will find out for certain on Sunday.