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kyxu
01-31-2009, 11:20 PM
http://www.xavierhoops.com/forums/images/logos/150/xu.gifThree Musketeers rescue #10 Xavier from upset, 82-80
By Mike Damone

It was an innocent enough attempt in a hotly-contested basketball game between a conference have and have-not – one team playing to maintain its dominance in the conference with the other scrounging for withering postseason possibilities. With Xavier clinging to a slim three-point lead and the UMass Minutemen (7-12, 2-4) inbounding, the Musketeers (19-2, 7-0) elected to foul to prevent a potential game-tying shot. With about six seconds remaining in the game, Chris Lowe (16 pts, 7 ast) received the pass, cut up court, was fouled on the floor, but flung up a shot just inside halfcourt, just in case the official allowed continuation after the whistle. It swished.

Fortunately, the basket didn’t count, and luckily, Xavier was able to corral the rebound off Lowe’s intentional miss on the second free throw attempt to stave off what would have been a monumental upset at the hands of the underachieving Minutemen, surviving 82-80 in front of a sold-out Cintas Center crowd Saturday afternoon.

The Musketeer floor leaders in seniors BJ Raymond (22 pts, 5 reb) and CJ Anderson (19 pts, 6 pts, 4 ast) and junior Derrick Brown (23 pts, 8 reb) combined to score 64 of Xavier’s 82 points, leading the offense in shooting 59.6 percent from the field and 47 percent from three. Of course, the Xavier offense was only half the story, with the other half being a spread-out Minutemen offense that dissected the Xavier packline with dribble-drive penetration, a la Xavier’s destruction at the hands of the Duke Blue Devils late last month.

The Musketeers led in the second half by as many as nine, but UMass’ up-tempo style of play and perimeter pressure forced a season-high 23 Xavier turnovers that led to instance offense and 36 UMass points.

With just under 10 minutes left, Anderson gave the Musketeers a four-point lead off a lay-up, but a 7-0 UMass run put the Minutemen up three, 67-64, with just 7:20 left. A David Gibbs (7 points) three gave UMass their first lead since early in the first half, and Ricky Harris (17 points) layed it in to extend the lead.

Raymond tied the game back up with a triple, and freshman Kenny Frease (8 pts, 3 reb) put the Musketeers back on top with short jumper, but Lowe answered with a hoop and foul to regain the lead for UMass. A midrange jumper from Raymond and a pair of free throws from junior Jason Love (5 pts, 4 reb) gave Xavier back the lead, 73-70, but UMass would take the lead once more with a four unanswered, before Raymond hit another triple to put Xavier back on top for good, 76-74, with 2:11 to go.

Anderson almost missed an opportunity to get the crowd going and put the game away, but he put back his own rebound off his missed dunk to give Xavier a four-point lead, 78-74, with a minute to go. Harris answered with a long three to bring the Minutemen to within one, but Raymond and Brown knocked down four-consecutive free throws to keep Xavier in control.

After Lowe was fouled with just a few seconds remaining, and his meaningless made heave sent the collective hearts of the home crowd into palpitations, he connected on the first free throw, but a potentially game-typing tip off the intentional miss was didn’t fall, providing the final margin.

The Minutemen matched the Musketeers punch-for-punch in the first half, even taking a five-point lead, 22-17, with 12:11 left in the first half off a Luke Bonner (14 pts, 3 reb) three. Raymond and Brown put Xavier up one, 23-22, with back-to-back threes, followed by an 11-5 Xavier run to put Xavier up 34-27 with just under six minutes left in the game. Brown put Xavier up 10 and electrified the crowd with a jam while being fouled to give Xavier a 41-31 lead with under three minutes left in the first half. But UMass continued to battle, as Anthony Gurley (10 points) hit long jumper to cut Xavier’s lead to seven, 44-37, at the halftime intermission.

The UMass offense gave Xavier fits throughout the game, as their dribble penetration led to many easy Minutemen baskets or Xavier fouls, while the Minutemen pressure on Xavier’s backcourt led to numerous turnovers and instance offense the other way. Xavier’s problems taking care of the ball were exacerbated when freshman Terrell Holloway (3 pts, 1 ast) was injured going after a loose ball, and as a result was forced to the bench for most of the second half.

Though Xavier committed a season-high in turnovers, they out-rebounded the Minutemen, 33-25, and shot a season-best 85.7 percent (12-for-14) from the free-throw line. The Minutemen boasted four players in double-figures led by Harris. Brown’s 23 points led all scorers. The victory gives Xavier a season-best 10-game winning streak.

The Musketeers remain in Cincinnati to take on the Temple Owls on Thursday at 7 p.m. Last season in Philadelphia, Dionte Christmas and Mark Tyndale combined to score 45 points and topple the Musketeers, 78-59. The Owls (12-8, 4-2) are coming off a 74-65 win at home over the Richmond Spiders.