January 7, 2009 | AP Press

CINCINNATI, OH — Derrick Brown didn’t miss a shot while scoring 20 points and C.J. Anderson added 13 as No. 18 Xavier rolled to a 70-44 victory over Saint Louis on Thursday night in the Atlantic 10 opener for both teams.

Brown was 6-for-6 from the field, including three 3-pointers, and made all five of his free throws.

Jason Love had 11 points for the Musketeers (12-2, 1-0), who have won three straight games after consecutive losses.

Kevin Lisch scored nine points to lead the Billikens (9-6, 0-1), who made a season-low one 3-pointer and saw their three-game winning streak snapped with their worst loss of the season.

The Musketeers, who have won the last two A-10 regular-season championships, never trailed after Brown made a 3-pointer less than a minute into the game. He scored 11 points and Anderson had 10 to lead the Musketeers to a 39-22 halftime lead.

January 3, 2009 | AP Press

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA — B.J. Raymond scored 24 points and hit four of No. 22 Xavier’s nine 3-pointers, and the Musketeers took a big early lead before beating Virginia 84-70 on Saturday.

The Musketeers (11-2) missed their first nine shots, but trailed only 6-2 when Raymond finally broke the ice with a basket in the lane with 15:14 left. It sparked a 23-2 run, with the last 19 coming in succession, as Xavier cruised to a 23-8 lead midway through the half.

Virginia (6-5) never challenged again, failing to avenge a loss last season that rated as one of its low points. In Ohio, the Musketeers led 61-30 by halftime, extended their lead to as many as 43 thereafter and tied a school record with 16 3-pointers in a 108-70 victory.

This time, the Musketeers had a 42-26 advantage at the break, in part thanks to a 9-4 burst to end it by Virginia. Xavier then opened the second half on an 18-6 run to lead 60-32.

Raymond finished the run with a jumper right after teammate Derrick Brown scored on a soaring one-handed dunk that caused even the fans at John Paul Jones Arena to roar.

Sylven Landesberg led Virginia with 25 points and Mike Scott had 16, but the Cavaliers shot just 37.5 percent in their first outing since winning 88-84 at Georgia Tech on Dec. 28.

Kenny Frease added 13 points and eight rebounds for Xavier, which will open its Atlantic 10 schedule Thursday night against Saint Louis. Dante Jackson also had 13 for the Musketeers.

The lone highlight of the day for Virginia came with 2:55 left, when senior Mamadi Diane, who was expected to be an offensive leader but has struggled mightily, made a 3-pointer from the top of the key. It was his first 3-pointer in 22 attempts this season and drew cheers.

December 31, 2008 | AP Press

CINCINNATI, OH – Jason Love scored a career-high 15 points as No. 22 Xavier took advantage of its size advantage, and freshman guard Brad Redford added a career-high 15 points from behind the arc Wednesday night, leading the Musketeers to a 78-57 victory over Robert Morris.

Xavier (10-2) was coming off back-to-back losses that sapped the Musketeers’ confidence. They were sloppy and sluggish in a 74-65 home loss to Butler on Saturday that prompted coach Sean Miller to make a lineup change against Robert Morris (6-7).

Freshman point guard Terrell Holloway made his first career start. Holloway is the only true point guard on the roster, and the offense tends to bog down when he’s not on the floor. He finished with six points and a career-high five assists.

Jeremy Chappell led Robert Morris with 17 points.

Holloway was gaining a bigger role each game before he suffered a stress fracture in his left foot, forcing him to miss two games in late November and early December. He has been working back into form from the injury, which has limited his practice time.

He made his mark early on.

Holloway passed to Love for an early basket as Xavier took the ball inside against the Colonials’ overmatched front line. Xavier opened with a 20-9 run built upon its inside game — the 6-foot-9 Love had seven of the points from under the basket and scored a season-high 11 in the first half.

When Robert Morris sagged inside, Xavier took advantage as well. Derrick Brown made an open 3-pointer from the right corner, and Redford made a pair of 3s that pushed it to 38-19. Redford finished 5-of-8, with every shot coming from behind the arc.

Rob Robinson had a pair of baskets that helped the Colonials cut the lead to 50-39 early in the second half. Love and Redford ended the comeback by restoring Xavier’s inside-out balance. Love had a couple of up-close baskets, and Redford made back-to-back 3s that pushed it to 60-41. Xavier led by as many as 26 points before sending in its substitutes.

Jamel McLean had a career-high 11 rebounds, helping Xavier dominate the boards.

December 23, 2008 | AP Press

CINCINNATI, OH — The young Butler Bulldogs played way beyond their experience.

Sophomore Matt Howard and freshman Gordon Hayward each scored 19 points, and Butler’s inexperienced lineup kept its poise and turned back one late Xavier rally after another Tuesday night, beating the 14th-ranked Musketeers 74-65 for a benchmark victory.

Butler (10-1) hadn’t beaten a ranked team since its 62-59 victory over No. 18 Maryland in the 2007 NCAA tournament. A team that starts three freshmen and a sophomore pulled this one off.

“You’ve got to win on the road if you want to play for something special,” Bulldogs coach Brad Stevens said. “We’re in the beginning phase of talking about that. We can hardly get past the pregame meal right now.”

In this one, the experienced team suddenly looked lost.

Xavier (9-2) was coming off an 82-64 loss to Duke on Saturday that ended the second-best start in school history and gave the Musketeers a lesson in what happens if they leave their swagger in the locker room. Duke opened with an 18-1 run that set the game on course for a blowout.

Against an old rival, the Musketeers got off to another bad start and wound up with another discouraging outcome.

“Duke was a lesson learned, and from today we’ve got to find out a lesson and learn from this,” said forward B.J. Raymond, who was only 1-of-7 from the field and had three points. “We can’t hang our head or anything like that. We’ve got to want to get better because some teams during the season don’t do that. That separates the great teams from the good teams.

“You start off good and when you hit a bumpy spot, you can either get better or you can go down. The tradition here is we always try to get better. Teams are finding out our weaknesses, and right now we’ve just got to get better at our weaknesses.”

It was only the Musketeers’ second loss in their last 31 games at the Cintas Center. Derrick Brown led Xavier with 17 points.

Butler’s only loss this season was 54-51 at Ohio State on Dec. 13. This time, the Bulldogs kept their composure down the stretch in a setting that could have been very unsettling to a young team.

“This is an intense atmosphere,” said Hayward, who was 10-of-10 from the free throw line. “I’ve played basketball all my life and I’ve been in games like this, but this was different.”

Butler and Xavier played regularly during their 16 years together in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, with the Bulldogs going 3-16 in Cincinnati during that time. They used their familiar style — few turnovers, tough defense, a few 3s — to get off to a fast start and lead most of the way.

Butler’s 12-4 opening run left Xavier with a familiar, bad feeling. The Musketeers missed their first four 3-point shots while falling behind big for the second straight game.

The Musketeers made four 3s, the last by Brad Redford, during a 14-7 spurt that put them ahead 26-24 late in the first half. It would be their final lead.

Howard had two three-point plays during a 12-4 run that put Butler ahead 44-36 with 14:25 left. The Bulldogs jumped to their feet in celebration when Xavier called a timeout to blunt the run. Six times after that, Xavier got within a basket. All six times, a Bulldog made a basket or free throws to preserve the lead they held since the closing minute of the first half.

Xavier coach Sean Miller got a technical foul with 2:58 left, setting up two of Hayward’s free throws as the Bulldogs rebuilt the lead to eight.

“That didn’t help our cause,” Miller said. “I can’t get a technical at that point. That’s my fault and I feel bad for that.”

Xavier’s final chance came after Brown made a 3-pointer with 1:52 remaining, cutting it to 68-65. Ronald Nored made two free throws to end Xavier’s last run, and Howard made two more to essentially finish off the game. Butler finished 26-of-33 from the free throw line.

“The fact that their freshmen and sophomores executed the way they did in our arena is phenomenal,” Miller said. “They’re a very good team.”

December 20, 2008 | AP Press

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Jon Scheyer matched his season high with 23 points and No. 6 Duke took a 31-point halftime lead on the way to an 82-64 victory over No. 7 Xavier on Saturday at the Meadowlands.

Gerald Henderson added 19 points for the Blue Devils (10-1).

Derrick Brown had 18 points and B.J. Raymond added 10 for Xavier (9-1).

It never looked like a matchup of top 10 teams as the Blue Devils were ahead 22-3 before Xavier managed its first field goal, a layup by C.J. Anderson 5:54 into the game.

Everything Duke tried worked, whether it was 3-point shooting or drop passes close to the basket that turned a short jumper into a layup.

Meanwhile, Xavier couldn’t get anything right as passes flew out of bounds and shots missed by a mile.

December 13, 2008 | AP Press

CINCINNATI, OH – Derrick Brown had 20 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out on a technical Saturday, and Xavier (No. 9 ESPN/USA Today, No. 10 AP) remained unbeaten with the roughest one of them all, a 76-66 victory over Cincinnati that featured six technical fouls.

Whistle by whistle, it fit the crosstown rivalry’s lore.

Xavier (9-0) extended the second-best start in its history by maintaining its edge in the edge-of-an-elbow series. The Musketeers have won nine of their last 13 against Cincinnati (6-2), which never led after the opening 2 minutes.

Deonta Vaughn led Cincinnati’s comeback from a 17-point deficit in the second half, scoring 19 of his 27 points after the intermission.

C.J. Anderson added 17 points and 11 rebounds for Xavier, which is one victory shy of tying the school mark for best start set by the 1996-97 squad.

The team with more to lose usually has the tougher time in the annual grudge match between schools separated by only 3 1/2 miles. The series is flush with upsets, none bigger than when Xavier visited Cincinnati in 1996 and beat the then-No. 1 Bearcats 71-69 on Lenny Brown’s last-second jumper.

In this one, the Bearcats had the most to gain. They’ve shown improvement in their fourth season since Bob Huggins’ ouster as coach, but haven’t been able to draw a crowd — their 13,000-seat arena was less than half full for each game before Saturday — or get much national attention.

They also had the advantage of a full week to prepare for the game — Xavier had only two days — and broke out their special red uniforms for the occasion.

Xavier opened with a 14-2 run that set the tone. The Musketeers’ tight man-to-man defense, their staple during the unbeaten streak, clamped down on Vaughn and the Bearcats’ front line, holding Cincinnati to 3-for-13 shooting with 10 turnovers in the first 12 minutes.

The Musketeers took control with an 18-4 run that featured Dante Jackson, who was forced to move back to point guard after freshman Terrell Holloway picked up three quick fouls. Jackson hit back-to-back 3s, and had a pull-up jumper and a steal in the run, which pushed the score to 39-22.

Jackson had 13 of his career-high 15 points in the opening half. He also had a pair of steals as Xavier forced 14 turnovers before the break.

Vaughn took over the Bearcats’ offense at the start of the second half, scoring 17 points in the first 9 minutes. His third 3-pointer in the surge cut it to 55-49 and brought the Bearcats’ first capacity crowd to its feet.

Game on.

Xavier finished it off with defense. Brown had steals on back-to-back Cincinnati possessions and was fouled both times. He made all four free throws, building the lead to 68-59 with 2:30 left. Anderson’s basket then pushed the lead to 12.

Game over.

December 10, 2008 | AP Press

CINCINNATI, OH – Freshman point guard Terrell Holloway returned from a stress fracture in his foot and put the sizzle back into Xavier’s offense Wednesday night, helping the Musketeers (No. 9 ESPN/USA Today, No. 10 AP) stay unbeaten with a 78-56 victory over Ohio.

Xavier (8-0) has matched the second-best start in its history — the 1992-93 team opened the same way. The school record is a 10-0 start by the 1996-97 team.

Even though the record remained perfect, the Musketeers have had problems on offense in their last two games without Holloway, their quickest ball handler, best free-throw shooter and flashiest playmaker. He was back in form during the last five minutes of the first half, leading an 18-2 run that left Ohio (4-4) down and out.

C.J. Anderson scored a career-high 22 points, and Derrick Brown added 18 in a balanced offense that had its point guard back. Holloway’s best moments came during the decisive run.

He passed to Brown for a three-point play, hit a floating jumper in the key, and had a steal and a pass to Brown for a fastbreak dunk that highlighted the run and put Xavier up 48-25 at halftime. Holloway had those two points, three assists and three rebounds in 15 minutes.

Brown was 7-for-7 from the field, making all three of his shots from behind the arc, one week after coach Sean Miller wondered aloud about his inconsistent play as he recovers from a sprained ankle.

Miller was so upset with his team’s lackadaisical defense in the second half of an 81-74 win over Auburn a week earlier that he threatened lineup changes. The lineup was the same on Wednesday, and with Holloway back, so was the offense.

The next one will be a tough one. To stay perfect, the Musketeers will have to beat crosstown rival Cincinnati on the Bearcats’ home court Saturday. The way the rivalry has played out, the team with the better record or higher ranking is the one in for a rough time.

Cincinnati (6-1) will have had a full week off when its plays Xavier, which has won six of the last nine games between the schools separated by only 3½ miles.

First, the Musketeers had to try to find their form against an Ohio team playing for the fourth time in eight days. Xavier wore down the Bobcats with its crushing run at the end of the first half and led by 28 points when both teams substituted freely for the closing minutes.

Jerome Tillman led Ohio with 16 points.

With five stalwarts left from its Elite Eight team and eight newcomers, Xavier won its first six games with defense, rebounding and grit. The victory over Auburn — Xavier got up by 24 in the second half, then went soft — raised concerns about their mind-set.

In the first half against Ohio, the Musketeers looked their old selves. They shot 69 percent from the field, their best half in more than four years. The last time Xavier shot so well was the second half of an 87-67 win over Saint Joseph’s in the Atlantic 10 tournament in Dayton on March 11, 2004.

The game amounted to a homecoming for first-year Ohio coach John Groce, who was an assistant with Miller on Thad Matta’s staff at Xavier in 2001. The Bobcats fell to 2-21 against top 10 teams, the wins coming over No. 4 Kentucky in 1964 and No. 4 Ohio State in 1971.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Ahmad Nivins – Saint Joseph’s
Senior, Forward, 6-9, 235 lbs.
Jersey City, N.J./St. Anthony’s HS

Nivins earns his second career A-10 Player of the Week honor after
averaging 19 points and 14 rebounds over two contests…scored 20
points and pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds in Saint Joseph’s
77-64 win at Lehigh on Dec. 2…had a team-high 18 points and 11 boards
on Dec. 6 versus Creighton…made 12-of-18 field goal attempts in the
two games…leads the A-10 with five double-doubles on the year.

B.J. Raymond – Xavier
Senior, Guard, 6-6, 226 lbs.
Toledo, Ohio/St. John’s Jesuit HS

In Xavier’s lone contest of the week versus Auburn on Dec. 3,
Raymond scored a career-high 32 points on 10-of-13 shooting and added
six boards in the Musketeers’ 81-74 victory…drained a career-best
seven three-pointers in nine attempts…leads XU in scoring (13.7
ppg.).

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Andrew Nicholson – St. Bonaventure
Freshman, Forward, 6-9, 230 lbs.
Mississaugua, Ontario/Father Michael Goetz Secondary HS

Nicholson scored a season-high 16 points, grabbed nine rebounds and
tied a program-record with eight blocks on Dec. 6 as St. Bonaventure
downed Princeton, 60-53, in the Bonnies’ lone contest of the
week…made four-of-six shots from the field and 8-for-11 from the
line, including all four of his foul shots in the final two
minutes…is the first SBU student-athlete in program annals to earn
three A-10 Rookie of the Week awards.

December 3, 2008 | AP Press

CINCINNATI, OH -— B.J. Raymond scored a career-high 32 points against an Auburn defense that already knew better than to leave him open, and No. 14 Xavier remained undefeated Wednesday night with an 81-74 victory, Sean Miller’s 100th as coach.

The Musketeers (7-0) matched the third-best start in their history and their best since 1996-97, when they won their first 10 for the school record. Raymond and the rest of the Musketeers kept it going by firing away from outside against the Tigers (3-4), who had trouble with that before.

In Xavier’s 80-57 win at Auburn last Jan. 6, the Musketeers tied their school record by making 16 3-pointers. Raymond led the way in that one, going 6-of-8 from behind the arc with 18 points overall—a performance that the Tigers surely remembered.

Stunningly, they left him open enough times to top it, letting Miller improve his record to 100-39 in his fifth season at Xavier.

Frankie Sullivan scored a career-high 23 points and helped Auburn cut a 22-point deficit to 60-51 with 6:55 left in the game. Raymond—who else— blunted the comeback by making back-to-back 3-pointers, giving him a career-high seven in nine attempts.

Xavier went 13-of-23 from behind the arc and shot 53.5 percent from the field, but its 22 turnovers and 22-of-36 shooting on free throws allowed Auburn to keep it close.

The Musketeers wore their special gray home jerseys for the first time since last Dec. 22, when they lost to Tennessee, their only loss in their last 29 games at the Cintas Center. The Musketeers never trailed in this one.

Raymond had 16 points in a sloppy first half that featured a dozen turnovers by each team. He hit back-to-back 3s, the second one when he was unguarded on the left wing, in an eight-point run that closed the half and left Xavier in control 37-26.

Against Miami of Ohio last Saturday, Raymond had one of those rare games when he struggles with his shot, missing all but the last of his eight 3-point attempts. It didn’t carry over against an Auburn defense more worried about taking away Xavier’s inside game.

Even 7-foot freshman center Kenny Frease made the first 3-pointer of his career, connecting when he was left unguarded at the top of the key.

A few hours before the game, the NCAA rejected sophomore point guard Jordan Crawford’s request to play for Xavier this season. Crawford transferred last summer from Indiana, and was hoping not to have to sit out a season.

Freshman point guard Terrell Holloway, the team’s best free-throw shooter and quickest ball handler, missed his second game with a stress fracture in his left foot that will sideline him for at least one more week. Xavier is down to one point guard—Dante Jackson, who is more of a shooting guard.

November 29, 2008 | AP Press

CINCINNATI, OH — Derrick Brown scored a career-high 23 points Saturday, and Xavier (No. 20 ESPN/USA Today, No. 16 AP) overcame cold shooting and the loss of another point guard to stay unbeaten with a 60-53 victory over Miami (Ohio).

The Musketeers improved to 6-0 for the first time since 1996-97, when they won their first 10 games. Like most of their games against Miami, this one took on a slog-it-out pace. Xavier pulled it out even though its two points guards were hurt.

Freshman Terrell Holloway suffered a stress fracture in his left foot during the Musketeers’ three wins at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off last week, culminating in their 63-58 win over Memphis. Dante Jackson appeared to pull a leg muscle in the second half Saturday and left with 6:20 to go.

Kenny Hayes scored 19 points for Miami (2-3), which has played nationally ranked teams in three of its first five games. The RedHawks also lost to UCLA 64-59 and Pittsburgh 82-53.

Miami’s extended man-to-man defense gummed up Xavier’s offense from the outset. The Musketeers missed six of their first seven shots, allowing the RedHawks to pull ahead 10-2. Miami led by as many as 11 in the first half, with Xavier off the mark from everywhere on the court. The Musketeers even missed six of their first seven free throws.

Brown made a 3-pointer and four consecutive free throws, snapping Xavier out of its funk. Brown’s free throw with 1:12 left in the half completed a 13-2 run and tied it at 24, but Michael Bramos’ 35-footer at the buzzer put Miami up 27-24 at intermission.

Last season in Oxford, Bramos made three free throws with 6 seconds left, then blocked a shot that preserved Miami’s 59-57 win. On Saturday, he scored 15 points and fouled out with 2:10 to go.

B.J. Raymond missed his first seven shots from behind the arc before connecting with 7:27 to go, putting the Musketeers ahead to stay at 41-38.

Raymond’s free throw gave Xavier a 48-42 lead with 4:58 left. Back-to-back baskets by Bramos got the lead down to one, but Brown made a pair of free throws in a six-point run that blunted the comeback. Then, Brown made two more that pushed it to 59-49 with 37 seconds to go.

Xavier went only 22-of-38 from the free-throw line and 2-of-12 from behind the 3-point arc.