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View Full Version : Top-seeded Musketeers bounce Billikens in opening round, 66-47



kyxu
03-12-2009, 02:11 PM
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj89/xhoops/229c7ef2-b85c-4e5a-95ba-619923a04e2.jpgTop-seeded Musketeers bounce Billikens in opening round, 66-47
By Mike Damone

Though the A-10 Regular Season Champion Xavier Musketeers may not have ended the regular season on the highest of notes just five days ago, they operated Thursday afternoon in Atlantic City as if it was a distant memory. Senior BJ Raymond (18 pts, 4 reb) led all scorers with 18, while classmate CJ Anderson (15 pts, 4 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl) followed with 15 of his own, helping the top-seed Xavier (25-6) make short work of the Saint Louis Billikens (18-14) en route to a 66-47 blowout in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

Xavier looked to run away with the game early, racing out to a 15-2 lead just over five minutes into the game. Junior Derrick Brown (9 pts, 5 reb) got the scoring started with a three, and Raymond added seven points on the run, while the Billikens attempted just five shots.

The Saint Louis offense would get it going, trimming Xavier’s lead to just three, 26-23, over the next 10 minutes. Seven different Bills scored in the rally, including six from Willie Reed (10 points). Tommie Liddell (6 pts, 4 ast) canned a three to cap the run with just over five minutes left in the first half. The Billikens did not help their cause, however, going just 3-for-9 from the free-throw line in the first half.

Xavier closed the first half on a 9-2 run, giving it a 35-25 edge heading into the break. Brown and freshman Terrell Holloway (7 pts, 3 reb) hit short jumpers to extend Xavier’s lead, while Anderson scored inside off a feed from junior Jason Love (10 pts, 4 reb). Raymond banked home a long three just before the buzzer sounded to provide the margin.

Xavier scored the second half’s first six points, giving it their largest lead of the game at that point, 41-25. Kevin Lisch (13 pts, 3 reb) later nailed a three to cut Xavier’s lead to 14, 42-28, but it would be the closest the Billikens would get, as the Musketeers were unstoppable on the offensive end, while forcing Saint Louis into multiple one-and-dones on the defensive end. About 15 seconds later, Raymond answered Lisch with a line-drive three, and the route was on.

Raymond scored 13 of his game-high 18 in the first half alone, but just as the senior Raymond keyed the Musketeers in the first half, his classmate Anderson helped finish the job in the second.
Holloway canned another three to put Xavier up 18 before Anderson was fouled on a drive and put Xavier up 20, 52-32, with a pair of free throws with under 15 minutes remaining. The Billikens would never seriously threaten Xavier’s lead for the rest of the afternoon.

The hobbled Anderson played one of his most complete games in awhile, not only scoring the basketball, but getting his teammates involved and not turning the ball. When Liddell swished a three to bring Saint Louis to within 14, Anderson took over, scoring on a driving layup, hitting Love with a beautiful feed for a basket before the shot clock expired, and scoring again on a short jumper to put Xavier back up by 20 with just 2:26 left.

The promising freshman Kwamain Mitchell (7 points) – whom the Musketeers were able to contain for much of the contest and forced into five turnovers and no assists – hit a three for the Bills, and walk-on sophomore Joe Hughes hit a long two to provide the final margin.

Xavier’s opening round win was made possible by the Musketeers’ stingy second-half defense. The Billikens went into the halftime break shooting over 60 percent, but Xavier’s tough halfcourt defense, which included intermittent zone, forced Saint Louis into just 45 percent shooting. Xavier also out-rebounded the Bills, 32-18. Freshman Kenny Frease (5 pts, 7 reb) led the Musketeers’ dominance on the glass with seven boards. Xavier also committed a season-low eight turnovers. Lisch led Saint Louis in the losing effort with 13 points.

The top-seeded Musketeers now advance to the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament for the third-consecutive season. Xavier will face the winner of the quarterfinal match-up between #6 St. Joseph’s and #4 Temple. Xavier defeated both teams in the regular season by 14 and 9 points, respectively, though Xavier has lost their its match-up to each school in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. The semifinal game will take place on Friday at approximately 6:30 p.m.