AP Photo

March 13, 2009

By John Lamb | A10CollegeHoops.com

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ – Dionte Christmas may have finally found the shot that has been eluding him for much of the season. The senior guard scored six big points down the stretch as the Owls toppled the top seeded Xavier Musketeers 55-53 at Boardwalk Hall on Friday night.

Christmas scored a game-high 20 points for the Owls. He admitted after the game that he wanted the ball in his hands down the stretch. On the Owls next-to-last possession he had the opportunity to pass the ball off to open teammates but instead he took B.J. Raymond one-on-one and and made the tough three that put them ahead for good.

The Owls received big-time contributions from their other two seniors as Sergio Olmos was a force down low with four blocks and Semaj Inge hit some important free-throws down the stretch. Inge finished with seven points while Olmos chipped in five.

Lavoy Allen also was instrumental for the Owls as he single handedly kept them in the game in the first half. All six of his first half rebounds were on the offensive glass. Eight of his 10 points came in the first twenty minutes. He finished the game with a double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds).

Ryan Brooks scored all nine of his points in the first half. The junior guard made his presence known on the boards as he grabbed seven rebounds.

The real story for the Owls was Christmas. After a disappointing first half in which he scored seven points on 2-of-5 shooting, the senior scored 13 points in the second with seven coming in the last two minutes of the game.

While Christmas has contended vociferously that his slump has not done anything to detract from his confidence it was pretty obvious that some of the weight on his shoulders was alleviated after tonight’s performance.

Raymond said after the game that he felt he played good defense on Christmas down the stretch but that sometimes “great players just make great shots.”

Xavier coach Sean Miller said after the game that losing in the semifinals may be a blessing in disguise as it gives his team an extra day to refocus on the ultimate goal: the NCAA Championship.

The Musketeers were led by their dynamic duo of Derrick Brown (19 points and 11 rebounds) and Raymond (18 points). They did not get much more help on the offensive end.

C.J. Anderson was 0-for-9 with no points scored in 30 minutes of play. Dante Jackson was in foul trouble for most of the game and ended with six points in 23 minutes.

Jason Love, Jamel McLean, Kenny Frease and Terrell Holloway finished the game with 10 points between them.

Miller said after the game that Xavier’s previous losses this season were due to the defense not showing up. This time his team played solid defense but simply could not score the ball.

To be honest, neither team shot the ball exceptionally well. The Owls shot 35 percent for the game while Xavier shot 34.5 percent. Xavier was more successful shooting from three-point range as they went 8-for-18 while the Owls on shot 4-of-17.

It was Temple’s ability to get to the line that ultimately got them over the hump. The Owls made 15 free-throws; Xavier only attempted nine.

Temple awaits the winner over Friday night’s second semifinal that will be contested between the Dayton Flyers and the Duquesne Dukes. The Owls have the chance to become the first repeat A-10 champions since…the Temple Owls of the ‘99-00 and ‘00-01 seasons.

Post Game Audio:
Fran Dunphy, Dionte Christmas and Ryan Brooks Post Game Comments
Sean Miller, B.J. Raymond and Derrick Brown Post Game Comments

AP Photo

March 12, 2009 | AP Press

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — B.J. Raymond had 18 points to lead No. 19 Xavier to a 66-47 victory over Saint Louis in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 championship on Thursday.

C.J. Anderson added 15 points and Jason Love had 10 for top-seeded Xavier (25-6, 13-4). The Musketeers meet the winner of Thursday’s second quarterfinal between fourth-seeded Temple and fifth-seeded Saint Joseph’s on Friday night.

Kevin Lisch had 13 points to lead the ninth-seeded Billikens (18-14, 8-9), and Willie Reed added 10.

Xavier used a 14-0 run spanning 4:28 of both halves to take control of the game.

Raymond banked in a 30-footer at the first-half buzzer to cap a 7-0 spurt that gave the Musketeers a 35-25 lead.

Xavier then opened the second half by scoring the first seven points to take a 42-25 lead with 17:30 left.

St. Louis never got closer than 14 the rest of the way.

AP Photo

March 7, 2009 | AP Press

RICHMOND, Va. — Kevin Anderson scored a career-high 29 points to lead Richmond to an 80-75 upset of No. 17 Xavier Saturday.

Justin Harper had 20 points for the Spiders (17-14, 9-7 Atlantic 10), who shot 50.9 percent and were 19-of-23 from the line. Jarhon Giddings added 12 points.

Derrick Brown had 16 points for Xavier (24-6, 12-4), which cut the lead to 75-73 with 1:21 remaining on Terrell Holloway’s short jumper in the lane to cap a 20-7 run.

Richmond hung on to beat a ranked team at the Robins Center for the seventh time in 37 years and first since last season against Dayton. Spiders scoring leader David Gonzalves was held to eight points.

After Holloway missed a pair of free throws, Anderson sunk a pair with 29 seconds left for a 78-73 lead. Brown cut it to 78-75 with 17.8 seconds left on two more.

After Richmond’s Francis Cedric Martel missed the front end of a one-and one, B.J. Raymond and Dante Jackson missed 3-pointers.

Harper rebounded and hit two free throws with 1.3 seconds left.

AP Photo

March 5, 2009 | AP Press

CINCINNATI — Dante Jackson scored Xavier’s first 11 points for a lead that held, and the Musketeers (No. 18 ESPN/USA Today, No. 17 AP) beat Dayton 76-59 on Thursday night for their third straight Atlantic 10 regular-season championship.

Xavier (24-5, 12-3) joined a short list of A10 heavyweights — no one has dominated like this since UMass and Temple in the 1990s.

No one loses the way Dayton does whenever it makes the hour-long bus ride down Interstate 75.

The Flyers (24-6, 10-5) haven’t beaten Xavier in Cincinnati since 1981, losing their last 24 games on whatever court happens to be Xavier’s home. The mind-boggling streak went on despite 19 points by Marcus Johnson.

On a night when Xavier honored its two seniors, the underclassmen kept them ahead most of the game. Jackson led the way, finishing with 14 points.

AP Photo

February 26, 2009 | AP Press

PHILADELPHIA — Back on the road for the first time since its clunker of a loss at Charlotte, Derrick Brown noticed a change in Xavier’s attitude.

“We got our road nastiness back,” he said.

One thing that hasn’t changed for the Musketeers is having another Atlantic 10 title in sight.

Brown had 18 points and 10 rebounds and B.J Raymond scored 18 points to lead Xavier (No. 22 ESPN/USA Today, No. 19 AP) past skidding Saint Joseph’s 68-54 on Thursday night.

“We were just trying to get it back in time and I think we’re in the right direction,” Brown said.

The Musketeers (23-5, 11-3) led almost the entire game and pulled away from the mistake-prone Hawks over the last four minutes to strengthen their spot at the top of the A-10 standings.

La Salle’s upset over Temple (9-4) opens the door for Xavier to win its third straight regular-season conference title with two games left.

“It says a lot [of our players] and our program,” coach Sean Miller said.

Ahmad Nivins scored 24 points for the Hawks, who lost their fifth straight game. Saint Joseph’s (14-13, 7-6) played without point guard Tasheed Carr (13.0 ppg), who sat out because of a concussion suffered Tuesday in practice.

The Hawks are on their longest streak under coach Phil Martelli since they dropped nine straight in 1998-99.

“The flaws have been there all year long,” Martelli said.

The Musketeers appear to have put their stunning five-point loss at Charlotte behind them.

Miller laughed at Brown’s remark and explained there was a simple definition to playing “nasty.”

“What he means deeper into that, is just being ready,” Miller said. “Being the team that looks the same whether we play at home or on the road.”

Brown and Anderson found their touch in the second half to make up for some sloppy play that let the Hawks whittle a double-digit lead down to six.

Brown put away the Hawks with two huge dunks that shook the rim and silenced the Palestra. Brown, who went over the 1,000-point mark, helped give Xavier a 56-44 lead and it would go up to 20 with steady trips to the free-throw line.

Maybe Carr would have steadied the Hawks and cut down the careless possessions. When Raymond buried a 3-pointer with 11:25 left to give Xavier a 50-36 lead, the Hawks had more turnovers (13) than field goals (11).

The final numbers were just as ugly: 19 turnovers and 17-for-46 shooting from the field. Xavier grabbed 17 offensive rebounds, led by Brown’s five.

Still, the Hawks had a shot through the first 30 minutes.

Garrett Williamson and Darrin Govens scored consecutive baskets, only to watch that single-digit deficit go back to 10 on Brown’s fall-down jumper.

That was it for the Hawks.

“You either hit first, or you get the hell beat of you and we got the hell beat of us on the backboards,” Martelli said.

Saint Joseph’s bounced Xavier in last year’s A-10 tournament semifinals and will need another upset to return to the NCAA tournament.

The Hawks were in prime position to threaten for their second straight at-large bid and were even in the hunt the A-10 title, after a 7-0 January in which they outscored the opposition by an average of 10 points per game.

“We were winning in January, and when the situation came up and we had to make a winning play, we did,” Martelli said. “We haven’t made a winning play in a couple of weeks.”

That sizzling streak seems about as far as way as their early season trip to Maui. Saint Joseph’s went 2-7 in February and will need to double that win total at the conference tournament in Atlantic City, N.J., to have any shot at a bid.

The Hawks were fortunate to only trail by five at halftime. They were dreadful from every corner of the court and missed 12 of their first 15 shots.

They were in the game because of a sizable edge from the free-throw line (9-for-10 to Xavier’s 1-for-3).

AP Photo

February 22, 2009 | AP Press

CINCINNATI, OH – C.J. Anderson didn’t even take a shot in the first half, when Xavier’s perimeter game was more than enough. After halftime, he went back to threading his way through defenders and scoring.

Anderson scored 14 points in the second half, leading five players in double figures, and the Musketeers (No. 17 ESPN/USA Today, No. 16 AP) rolled to a 71-53 victory Sunday that moved them back into first place in the Atlantic 10.

“That was an important game for this team,” Anderson said. “Coach [Sean] Miller wanted us as seniors to play better and set the tone. I didn’t play well in the first half, but I came back and played better in the second half.”

The Musketeers (22-5, 10-3) steadied themselves after yet another road loss and moved a half-game ahead of Dayton (No. 25 AP) for the conference lead. Ranked for the first time this season, the Flyers lost at Saint Louis 57-49 on Saturday night.

There were more immediate concerns for the Musketeers, who had lost three of their last four games, all on the road. They needed to rebuild confidence fast. George Washington (8-16, 2-10) was the perfect matchup.

Damian Hollis scored 15 points for the Colonials, who fell behind 26-8 and trailed by as many as 25 points. George Washington shot 38.6 percent from the field and had 17 turnovers.

“We wanted to get back to the basics, and we did a good job,” said B.J. Raymond, who had 12 points. “We played about 30 minutes of good defense. That’s a step in the right direction.”

Xavier plays at Saint Joseph’s on Thursday, then has a week off to prepare for its home-court rematch with Dayton, which has lost its last 23 games in Cincinnati. Xavier has won the last two regular-season titles.

The Musketeers’ recent struggles have underscored their need for a dependable point guard. Terrell Holloway has regressed lately, playing like the true freshman he is. Holloway has passed up open shots on the perimeter and repeatedly gotten shots swatted away on drives to the basket, contributing little to Xavier’s halfcourt offense.

The slump prompted Miller to make a switch at the position, moving shooting guard Dante Jackson into the role. In the last three games, Holloway had come off the bench and gone 1-for-14 from the field with two points, two assists and three turnovers.

With 7-foot reserve center Kenny Frease also limited by a sprained ankle, Xavier’s offense has taken a hit.

It didn’t much matter against George Washington, which was so focused on limiting Xavier’s bigger front line that it let the conference’s best 3-point shooters get open behind the arc. Xavier made six 3s while taking a 26-8 lead, the last one by Holloway from the right corner. Holloway finished with three points on 1-of-4 shooting and two assists.

Colonials coach Karl Hobbs stayed in his crouch, staring blankly at the opposite end of the court, while his players gathered behind him during a timeout with 10:25 left in the first half. At that point, what’s left for a coach to say? Xavier’s versatility was too much.

“They’re always going to have four guys on the court who are capable of scoring 18 to 20 points on any given night,” Hobbs said. “The thing I like about them is they all have their roles and they know what they are.”

George Washington was coming off its biggest win of the season, 90-62 over St. Bonaventure. Rob Diggs scored a season-high 26 points in that one. Playing a ranked team for the first time this season, the Colonials fell apart. Diggs went 1-for-5 with two points and four fouls.

Ian Andersen celebrates one of his five 3-pointers

February 19, 2009 | by Jordan Keyser A10CollegeHoops

CHARLOTTE, NC -The Charlotte 49ers managed to stave off a well-balanced Xavier attack to upset the 17th ranked Musketeers, 65-60.

The Charlotte faithful donned all-white in support of their “whiteout” game. Guard Ian Andersen obviously wanted to keep up with theme by being white hot from 3-point range, going 5-for-7 from beyond the arc. He lead all scorers with 16 points and had 6 rebounds to boot.

“It all starts with Dijuan. He’s running the show out there, finding players and taking it to the rack. He’s playing smart, being the floor general out there. It really does all start with him. He really controlled the game,” Andersen said modestly.

Harris had 10 assists, marking the 5th time in his last 6 games that he achieved double-digit assists. He currently leads the A-10 in assists-per-game with 8.3 APG. Harris ranks 5th nationally in that category.

And while it all starts with Dijuan Harris, tonight it certainly all ended with Lamont Mack. Despite a very poor first half, Mack scored all 12 of his points in the last 8 minutes of the game, capping it off by hitting a huge baseline 3-pointer with 30 seconds left that put the 49ers up for good.

“Coach had faith in me. I wasn’t really hitting those shots all game long, but he drew some plays up for me down the stretch and I was able to convert,” said Mack.

Coach Bobby Lutz added, “Lamont was struggling, but he made the big shots at the end, obviously. That’s what matters.”

Mack scored 12 out of Charlotte’s 15 points during his scoring streak.

Lamont wasn’t the only one to hit big shots for the Niners. An’Juan Wilderness hit big free throws in the late seconds to officially ice the game, including two with 11 seconds left. Xavier’s C.J. Anderson hit a quick lay-up to cut the lead in half but Wilderness’ clutchness at the line proved to be too much.

Charlotte's student section storms the court.

“The atmosphere was…I can’t even put it into words right now. It’s a great feeling. I can’t remember it ever being like this.” Wilderness said of the hometown’s display of pride.

Despite the tough loss, Xavier had six of its nine players score more than 7 points. Coach Sean Miller didn’t have as optimistic of a viewpoint.

“(Charlotte) is playing their best basketball of the season. We are not playing well. Things need to be fixed and they will be, starting at practice tomorrow.” Coach Miller said in a very brief statement released by the university.

It was an all-around glorious night for Charlotte, which included former star and Conference USA Player of the Year Eddie Basden’s jersey being retired in a ceremony at halftime.

Charlotte improved to 10-15 (4-7 A10), while Xavier fell to 21-5 (9-3 A10). The Musketeers have dropped 3 out of their last 4 games after getting off to an 8-0 start in A-10 Conference play.

The 49ers hope to keep things rolling, as they head to Richmond on Saturday. Xavier looks to end its skid, facing George Washington at home on Sunday.

AP Phot

February 14, 2009 | AP Press

CINCINNATI, OH – Brad Redford matched his career high with 15 points, all of them from behind the arc, and 14th-ranked Xavier recovered from back-to-back losses by dominating the second half and beating Fordham 88-53 on Saturday.

Xavier (21-4, 9-2 Atlantic 10) saw its defense slip during consecutive road losses at Duquesne and Dayton, both of whom shot 50 percent from the field. After a ragged start on Saturday, the Musketeers got back into form against the league’s worst-shooting team.

The Musketeers haven’t lost three in a row since early in the 2004-05 season, and were never in trouble against the Rams (3-19, 1-9), who start a pair of freshmen and two sophomores. Fordham has lost four in a row, all by at least 23 points.

Redford led six Xavier players in double figures. Xavier made a season-high 14 3-pointers and had a season high in points. Sophomore guard Mike Moore led Fordham with a career-high 24 points.

In addition to trying to fix his team’s defense the last few days, Xavier coach Sean Miller has been working on his fan support, too.

Miller had a new message for fans played on the videoboard before the game, urging them to be loud. He also had his players walk through the stands — past the student section — before taking the floor for warmups, another new twist.

There was yet one more change at the tip-off: Terrell Holloway was out of the starting lineup. The freshman point guard failed to get an assist in the last two games, and gave way to Dante Jackson in the lineup. Holloway had started the last 13 games, but struggled to take care of the ball.

The student section was louder — it chanted Miller’s name when he got a technical foul for arguing a call — and Holloway passed the ball more often when he got onto the floor. The defense? At the outset, that was another matter.

Fordham made nine of its first 16 shots, keeping it close for the first 12 minutes. At that point, Xavier’s man-to-man defense toughened, and Derrick Brown dunked off a rebound and had a 3-pointer during a 12-2 run that pushed the lead to 36-24.

Redford’s fifth 3-pointer pushed the lead to 68-38 midway through the second half. The freshman shooting guard went 5-of-9 from behind the arc.

Holloway had another subpar game, getting only one of Xavier’s 21 assist and two points.

Xavier played without 7-foot reserve center Kenny Frease, who sat on the bench in his warm-up jacket resting a sprained right ankle. The freshman played only 13 minutes during a loss at Dayton on Wednesday, getting four points and two rebounds despite the injury.

The Musketeers figured they could get by without him. They beat Fordham by 26 points on Jan. 11, and have won 16 of their 17 against the Rams since they joined the league.

AP Photo

February 11, 2009 | AP Press

DAYTON, Ohio — Chris Wright led a balanced offense with 19 points, and Dayton ended its six-game losing streak against No. 14 Xavier with a 71-58 victory Wednesday night in one of the Atlantic 10’s marquee matchups of the season.

Using its depth and balance to full advantage, Dayton (22-3, 8-2) led the entire game against the defending two-time conference champions, who now have to work to make it three in a row.

Xavier (20-4, 8-2) has lost back-to-back games for the second time this season, denting the Musketeers’ chances of a high seed in the NCAA tournament. The regular-season A10 title is now up in the air, too. The southwest Ohio rivals play again on March 5 in Cincinnati, where Dayton has lost its last 23 games since 1981.

Wright scored the last nine points for Dayton, which had lost to the Musketeers six times in the last two years. Dayton joined Duke as the only teams to shoot 50 percent from the field against Xavier, which got 17 points from Derrick Brown.

Both teams were coming off upset losses on the road set up by lackluster defense. There was no letting up Wednesday in the most-played rivalry for both teams.

Dayton suffered a setback to its pressure defense when guard Rob Lowery hurt his right knee midway through the first half and didn’t return. He went down hard after getting off a shot in a crowd of defenders, and cradled his knee for several minutes. He didn’t put any weight on the leg as he was helped off.

Lowery is a key to Dayton’s pressure defense, which is the stingiest in the Atlantic 10. It made its mark in the opening minutes, helping the Flyers pull ahead and set a tone.

Xavier turned the ball over on its first three possessions — C.J. Anderson drew two charging fouls, and the Musketeers had a shot clock violation. Dayton took advantage by pulling ahead 8-1. The Flyers led by as many as eight in the half, turning back a couple of Xavier rallied that cut the lead to one.

With Lowery out, sophomore guard Stephen Thomas got an opportunity to play more than usual. Thomas, who hadn’t scored in the last seven games, hit a floating jumper and free throw in the closing minutes of the half, putting Dayton up 33-28 at the intermission.

The Flyers’ problems deepened when point guard London Warren picked up his third foul only 13 seconds into the second half. Still, Xavier had a hard time taking advantage and putting together a run that would get them a lead. A pair of 3s by Wright helped the Flyers extend the lead to 47-39 while Warren was on the bench.

Marcus Johnson made a driving basket and a 3-pointer, and Wright followed with a jumper in traffic that pushed the lead to 64-50 with 5:26 to go. Xavier never got closer than 10 the rest of the way.

February 11, 2009 by Jeff Garrett | A10CollegeHoops

Cincinnati, OH -- The Xavier Musketeers are coming off a tough 72-68 loss last Saturday to the Duquesne Dukes; a game in which Xavier shot 43% from the field, and committed 14 turnovers. Reflecting on the loss at Tuesday’s press conference, head coach Sean Miller said, “There’s no shame in losing. Our goal at Xavier is not to go undefeated on the season, and our goal is not to go undefeated in conference play. We’re trying to be the best team that we can be.”

Xavier (20-3, 8-1) has fallen to 14 in the both the AP Top 25 and the ESPN/USA Today Poll following the Duquesne loss. Tonight they face conference foe the Dayton Flyers (21-3, 7-2) who are also coming off a road loss to the Charlotte 49er’s. The game marks a unique point in the history of the two schools as both come in having won 20 or more games in the season.

When assessing his team’s success in conference play so far, Sean Miller sums it up in two words: “Our defense.” However, he is cautious about the upcoming game saying, “We lost a game and we have another game on Wednesday, which we could lose. Dayton is a very, very good team. And if there’s a lesson to be learned at Duquesne, it’s just that there’s not a real big difference between us and a lot of teams, especially if we’re not an excellent defensive team.”

In addition to defense, another key for Xavier coming out with a win tonight is the play of freshmen point guard Terrell Holloway who matches up against Dayton’s junior guard London Warren. When Miller was asked what advice he’ll be giving Holloway he notes, “Terrell just has to be himself. Really what we’re asking Terrell to do is just really value and take care of the ball, get us into whatever we’re getting into, and defensively be on-assignment, be tough-minded, and just continue to play his style of play.”

Miller also looks for his team to improve their free-throw shooting which could become a key stat in a close game. Says Miller, “Making free throws is important for every team, in particular for our team. Why is it maybe more important? Because we get there so regularly. And when you get there regularly, you depend on the percentage that you shoot.”

Tipoff tonight at UD Arena is 7:00 pm ET, and the game will be aired on ESPN2.