kyxu
03-09-2008, 07:25 PM
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj89/xhoops/bilde.jpg#8 Musketeers’ defense, second-half surge provide senior encore over Richmond, 86-61
By Mike Damone
When the game clock hit 0.0 on Saturday evening at the Cintas Center, the Xavier players, students and remaining fans flooded the floor to celebrate a remarkable season, as well as a group of seniors worthy of such assignation.
Though the blue confetti that rained on the Cintas floor didn’t fall with the same vigor as a blanket of snow did upon Cincinnati that likely prevented a packed house, there was still abundant cheers when each Musketeer scaled a ladder under the net at the game’s conclusion to cut down his piece of the 2007-08 men’s basketball season.
For many who follow Xavier basketball closely, it was a bittersweet moment. The fans still in attendance were able to celebrate once again the Xavier men’s basketball team’s best regular season finish in school history, as well as a second-straight Atlantic 10 regular season championship.
Xavier fans got to marvel at the maturation of senior Stanley Burrell (11 pts, 4 assists) from a streaky, young scorer to a consistent, lockdown defender who could also man the point guard position when needed. Fans also got to celebrate the growth of Josh Duncan (13 pts, 5 reb) from a timid, tank-built perimeter player into a fierce inside competitor. The “bitter” in this poignant moment was the obvious absence of senior point guard Drew Lavender, who requested not to play Saturday evening in the Musketeers’ final home game due to a nagging ankle injury sustained February 13 against Charlotte.
Despite the fact that #8 Xavier (26-5, 14-2) won in dominating fashion without arguably their most important player, no one, including the Xavier players, are yet comfortable running a Lavender-less offense. Xavier used an eye-popping 24-5 run to start the second half and pull away from the Richmond Spiders (16-13, 9-7), 86-61, though a majority of the offensive production in the decisive second half came from the free-throw line, where the Musketeers went an incredible 31-for-36 from the stripe.
Xavier created these free opportunities by constantly feeding the ball inside, forcing the Spiders’ bigger, slower frontcourt players one-on-one with the Musketeers’ quicker interior players. As a result, Xavier fouled out three Spiders with still a few minutes left in the game.
Lavender’s absence was felt quickly early on, as the Xavier offense looked noticeably out of sorts despite Duncan opening up the scoring with a hoop-and-harm to give the Musketeers a 3-0 lead. Richmond would score the next seven points, thanks to five from Dan Geriot (7 pts, 5 reb). A layup by Kevin Anderson (20 points) gave Richmond their largest lead of the night at 11-5.
BJ Raymond, who talleyed a career-high 22 points with five rebounds, scored the next five to cut Xavier’s deficit to just one. Richmond answered with a triple of its own, before a three-minute drought saw a series of missed shots by both teams, freezing the score at 14-10. Adrion Graves (3 points) took his man off the dribble, scored and was fouled to bring the Musketeers back, as Raymond put the Musketeers ahead for good with a three from the right wing to make the score 16-14. A more consistent inside attack, powered by eight points in the span of two minutes from CJ Anderson (12 pts, 6 reb) helped the Musketeers to a 32-26 halftime lead.
The second half wasn’t nearly as suspenseful. The Musketeers began the half with seven free throws before the Spiders even scored. In fact, Xavier’s first field goal of the second half did not come until close to the 15-minute mark when Jason Love (7 pts, 5 reb) jammed home a Burrell dime, giving Xavier a 43-29 lead. And even that score was followed by a free throw due to a Gaston Moliva foul.
Xavier continued on a 10-run, eight of which were from the line, to push Xavier’s lead to 54-29. Xavier was shooting bonus one-and-one’s only three minutes and 11 seconds into the second half. And with each Richmond foul, the Musketeers would quietly extend their lead.
The crowd was brought to their feet for arguably the play of the game when a ball tapped loose on defense by Danté Jackson (5 pts, 5 reb) was pushed ahead to Burrell on a fastbreak. Burrell nonchalantly flung the ball in the general vicinity of the goal in anticipation of what would be a thundering finish from Derrick Brown (13 pts, 8 reb) that brought eruption with just under 10 minutes remaining to give Xavier a 65-36 lead, its largest of the game.
The comfortable lead allowed Xavier head coach Sean Miller to substitute Duncan out of the game close to the 5-minute mark and Burrell at the 3:25 mark. The two seniors left to the roar of a standing ovation. Though Lavender did not play, he joined his classmates in cutting down the nets to celebrate the regular season title.
It is uncertain whether Lavender’s decision was spawned from a personal desire to rest his injury, or from some necessity due to re-aggravation. Regardless, Lavender’s role in Xavier’s success this year is indelible and should not be ignored. Because of conference parity, it is also no secret that Xavier’s postseason success – in both the conference and NCAA Tournament – is substantially dependent on his health.
Finishing the Atlantic 10 regular season at a 14-2 mark, Xavier’s best since finishing the 02-03 season with a 15-1 mark, the Musketeers must now prepare for their first game of the Atlantic 10 Tournament: a Thursday quarterfinal game at noon against the winner of the St. Louis/Dayton match-up on Wednesday afternoon. The Dayton Flyers (20-9, 8-8) won both contests this season against the St. Louis Billikens (16-14, 7-9), by the scores of 68-57 and 63-36.
By Mike Damone
When the game clock hit 0.0 on Saturday evening at the Cintas Center, the Xavier players, students and remaining fans flooded the floor to celebrate a remarkable season, as well as a group of seniors worthy of such assignation.
Though the blue confetti that rained on the Cintas floor didn’t fall with the same vigor as a blanket of snow did upon Cincinnati that likely prevented a packed house, there was still abundant cheers when each Musketeer scaled a ladder under the net at the game’s conclusion to cut down his piece of the 2007-08 men’s basketball season.
For many who follow Xavier basketball closely, it was a bittersweet moment. The fans still in attendance were able to celebrate once again the Xavier men’s basketball team’s best regular season finish in school history, as well as a second-straight Atlantic 10 regular season championship.
Xavier fans got to marvel at the maturation of senior Stanley Burrell (11 pts, 4 assists) from a streaky, young scorer to a consistent, lockdown defender who could also man the point guard position when needed. Fans also got to celebrate the growth of Josh Duncan (13 pts, 5 reb) from a timid, tank-built perimeter player into a fierce inside competitor. The “bitter” in this poignant moment was the obvious absence of senior point guard Drew Lavender, who requested not to play Saturday evening in the Musketeers’ final home game due to a nagging ankle injury sustained February 13 against Charlotte.
Despite the fact that #8 Xavier (26-5, 14-2) won in dominating fashion without arguably their most important player, no one, including the Xavier players, are yet comfortable running a Lavender-less offense. Xavier used an eye-popping 24-5 run to start the second half and pull away from the Richmond Spiders (16-13, 9-7), 86-61, though a majority of the offensive production in the decisive second half came from the free-throw line, where the Musketeers went an incredible 31-for-36 from the stripe.
Xavier created these free opportunities by constantly feeding the ball inside, forcing the Spiders’ bigger, slower frontcourt players one-on-one with the Musketeers’ quicker interior players. As a result, Xavier fouled out three Spiders with still a few minutes left in the game.
Lavender’s absence was felt quickly early on, as the Xavier offense looked noticeably out of sorts despite Duncan opening up the scoring with a hoop-and-harm to give the Musketeers a 3-0 lead. Richmond would score the next seven points, thanks to five from Dan Geriot (7 pts, 5 reb). A layup by Kevin Anderson (20 points) gave Richmond their largest lead of the night at 11-5.
BJ Raymond, who talleyed a career-high 22 points with five rebounds, scored the next five to cut Xavier’s deficit to just one. Richmond answered with a triple of its own, before a three-minute drought saw a series of missed shots by both teams, freezing the score at 14-10. Adrion Graves (3 points) took his man off the dribble, scored and was fouled to bring the Musketeers back, as Raymond put the Musketeers ahead for good with a three from the right wing to make the score 16-14. A more consistent inside attack, powered by eight points in the span of two minutes from CJ Anderson (12 pts, 6 reb) helped the Musketeers to a 32-26 halftime lead.
The second half wasn’t nearly as suspenseful. The Musketeers began the half with seven free throws before the Spiders even scored. In fact, Xavier’s first field goal of the second half did not come until close to the 15-minute mark when Jason Love (7 pts, 5 reb) jammed home a Burrell dime, giving Xavier a 43-29 lead. And even that score was followed by a free throw due to a Gaston Moliva foul.
Xavier continued on a 10-run, eight of which were from the line, to push Xavier’s lead to 54-29. Xavier was shooting bonus one-and-one’s only three minutes and 11 seconds into the second half. And with each Richmond foul, the Musketeers would quietly extend their lead.
The crowd was brought to their feet for arguably the play of the game when a ball tapped loose on defense by Danté Jackson (5 pts, 5 reb) was pushed ahead to Burrell on a fastbreak. Burrell nonchalantly flung the ball in the general vicinity of the goal in anticipation of what would be a thundering finish from Derrick Brown (13 pts, 8 reb) that brought eruption with just under 10 minutes remaining to give Xavier a 65-36 lead, its largest of the game.
The comfortable lead allowed Xavier head coach Sean Miller to substitute Duncan out of the game close to the 5-minute mark and Burrell at the 3:25 mark. The two seniors left to the roar of a standing ovation. Though Lavender did not play, he joined his classmates in cutting down the nets to celebrate the regular season title.
It is uncertain whether Lavender’s decision was spawned from a personal desire to rest his injury, or from some necessity due to re-aggravation. Regardless, Lavender’s role in Xavier’s success this year is indelible and should not be ignored. Because of conference parity, it is also no secret that Xavier’s postseason success – in both the conference and NCAA Tournament – is substantially dependent on his health.
Finishing the Atlantic 10 regular season at a 14-2 mark, Xavier’s best since finishing the 02-03 season with a 15-1 mark, the Musketeers must now prepare for their first game of the Atlantic 10 Tournament: a Thursday quarterfinal game at noon against the winner of the St. Louis/Dayton match-up on Wednesday afternoon. The Dayton Flyers (20-9, 8-8) won both contests this season against the St. Louis Billikens (16-14, 7-9), by the scores of 68-57 and 63-36.