AP Photo

March 26, 2009 | AP Press

BOSTON, MA – Levance Fields pointed Pittsburgh in the right direction just in time — as usual.

For the second straight game, the orchestrator of the offense took the big shots himself, hitting a 3-pointer with 50.9 seconds left, then scoring off his steal as the top-seeded Panthers reached the regional finals for the first time in 35 years with a 60-55 win over Xavier on Thursday night.

One more win and they’ll be headed to Detroit for the Final Four.

“We came in expecting to win two games,” Fields said before acknowledging the obvious: “It was dramatic.”

The star point guard provided the drama in Pitt’s previous win, 84-76 over Oklahoma State. That game was tied at 74 with 2:42 left. Then Fields made a layup and a 3-pointer and the Panthers never trailed after that.

Pitt knows the late-game strategy by now.

“Give Levance the ball,” Big East co-player of the year DeJuan Blair said with a laugh.

The last time Pitt was in a regional final was in 1974 when it lost to eventual national champion North Carolina State and star David Thompson 100-72.

“It definitely was big for the players, the coaches and the city,” said Sam Young, who led Pitt with 19 points. “It’s something we’ve been waiting for, for a long time.”

Pitt (31-4) trailed 54-52 before Fields connected. He then poked the ball away from B.J. Raymond and went in for a layup with 23.9 seconds to go.

“It’s just sad that we had to go out the way we went out,” Xavier’s Derrick Brown said. “The season we had, it was about toughness and finishing what we do. And we didn’t finish.”

Fields did, scoring 14 points, while Blair had 10 points and 17 rebounds in the East semifinal victory. The Panthers overcame an eight-point halftime deficit.

Pitt plays Saturday against the winner of Thursday night’s second semifinal between second-seeded Duke and third-seeded Villanova for a berth in the Final Four.

“We’re a confident group,” Fields said. “We haven’t played our best basketball, but the good thing is we’ve found a way to make plays when we’ve needed them.”

Fourth-seeded Xavier (27-8) was led by Raymond with 15 points and Derrick Brown with 14.

“I thought the shot Levance Fields hit is all about [the poise of] senior point guards,” said Xavier coach Sean Miller, who knows something about that.

He was a star point guard at Pitt from 1987 to 1992 and is second in school history in assists.

Panthers coach Jamie Dixon made it to the round of eight for the first time in his six years on the bench after losing in his other two trips to the round of 16. Xavier fell short in its bid for a third berth in the regional finals in six years.

“They pushed us around in the first half, but we responded in the second half like we usually do,” Dixon said. “Like I’ve said before, I never get tired of seeing Levance take big shots. He’s made them year after year.”

Trailing 37-29 at halftime, Pitt scored the first nine points of the second half — and Xavier missed its first 10 shots — as the Panthers took a 38-37 lead with 14:33 left.

But the Musketeers recovered and went ahead 54-52 with 1:50 remaining when Dante Jackson cut to the basket for a layup.

Fields then had the ball past midcourt before it went into the backcourt off a defender. Fields retrieved it, dribbled into his own end and fired up the go-ahead shot over Jackson.

“We ran our go-to play,” Fields said. “I did a little bit of an in-and-out move, got him on his heels a little bit and took the shot. Once I got him back, I took the open shot. I had confidence in it.”

Jackson thought he could stop him.

“I thought I had a pretty good challenge,” he said.

Fields was in the right place again when Raymond lost control of his dribble. Fields got the ball, pushed it forward and dribbled ahead of the field to put the Panthers up by three.

Xavier’s Terrell Holloway made a free throw with 16 seconds left, but Young hit two just three seconds later. After a missed 3-pointer by Brown, Brad Wannamaker made one more free throw for Pitt with 2.6 seconds left.

The Musketeers went just 7-for-29 from the field in the second half when they were outscored 31-18.

But they were solid late in the first half. With the score tied at 27, Xavier outscored Pitt 10-2 in the last three minutes of the half to take a 37-29 lead. Brown started the surge with a 3-pointer and sank another one that made it 35-29.

Blair struggled offensively inside and finished with just two points and four rebounds in the first half. He had eight points and 13 rebounds after that.

AP Photo

March 22, 2009 | AP Press

BOISE, Idaho — B.J. Raymond scored 15 points and Xavier finally broke through Wisconsin’s defense midway through the second half, pulling away to a 60-49 victory Sunday in the second round of the East Regional.

The Musketeers (27-7) struggled as the Badgers controlled the pace for the first 30 minutes, before Xavier pulled away with a 13-4 run and hung onto the lead from the foul line.

Wisconsin (20-13) kept Xavier off balance, but the tight defense wasn’t quite enough to overcome 29 percent shooting. The Badgers were just 16-for-56 from the floor and made three of 20 3-point attempts.

Marcus Landry scored 18 and Trevon Hughes had 17 points for the Badgers.

Derrick Brown added 15 points and C.J. Anderson pulled down eight rebounds for fourth-seeded Xavier, which will play in Boston on Thursday despite the sloppy performance — the Musketeers were 18-for-46 from the floor and just 18-for-26 from the foul line.

Wisconsin patiently worked the shot clock and even led by a point with about 9:10 remaining before the Musketeers cracked through.

Dante Jackson hit two free throws to give Xavier a 38-37 lead with 8:57 left, starting the 13-4 run that put the Badgers away. After Jackson’s foul shots, Jamel McLean blocked a shot by Landry, then ran down to the other end and took a pass from Terrell Holloway for a two-handed dunk and a 40-37 lead with about 8:30 left.

McLean had another power dunk that put Xavier up 44-39 with 6:06 remaining, and after Landry answered with a dunk for Wisconsin, Jackson banked in a shot and Raymond hit a 3-pointer that stretched the lead to 49-41 — the largest of the game to that point.

Tim Jarmusz hit a 3-pointer for the Badgers, but Kenny Frease got a layup to roll in and Brown hit two free throws for a 53-44 lead with only 1:42 remaining.

Xavier didn’t make field goal for the first three minutes of the second half — even a dunk attempt by Love bounced off the rim — as the Badgers opened with a 6-1 run. Hughes scored on a reverse layup for the first points of the half, then spun 360 degrees for another layup that put Wisconsin up 33-26 and prompted a time out by Xavier with 17:15 left in the game.

Wisconsin led 27-25 after an ugly first half that was just fine with the Badgers, who slowed the game by working the shot clock and keeping the Musketeers from getting any transition opportunities. Xavier was 8-for-23 in the half, only slightly better than Wisconsin’s 8-for-24 performance.

Hughes missed seven of his first eight shots, but made all eight of his free throws and had 10 points at halftime. Xavier committed eight turnovers in the first 20 minutes and didn’t score for the first four minutes of the game.

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

March 9, 2009 | Atlantic 10 Website

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Saint Joseph’s senior forward Ahmad Nivins has been named the 2008-09 Atlantic 10 men’s basketball Player of the Year in voting conducted among the Conference’s 14 head coaches.

The A-10 coaches also selected Andrew Nicholson of St. Bonaventure as the Rookie of the Year, Duquesne’s Aaron Jackson as the Chris Daniels Award recipient as the league’s most improved player, Delroy James of Rhode Island as Sixth Man of the Year, Massachusetts’ Tony Gaffney as Defensive Player of the Year and Rhode Island’s Jim Baron as Coach of the Year. In addition, Kevin Lisch of Saint Louis was tabbed Student-Athlete of the Year in voting among the league’s sports information directors.

Ahmad Nivins – Saint Joseph’s Hawks (F)

Nivins enters this week’s Atlantic 10 Championship (Mar. 11-14) in Atlantic City tied with Temple’s Dionte Christmas for the scoring lead with an average of 19.2 ppg. A third-team selection a year ago, the 6-9 forward from Jersey City, N.J., leads the Conference in rebounding (11.7 rpg.), minutes (39.43 mpg.) and double-doubles (20), while his league-best .625 shooting percentage (193-of-309) puts him on pace to join former George Washington standout Alexander Koul (1995-97) as the only players in A-10 history to lead the league in field goal percentage three consecutive years. A member of the All-Defensive Team, Nivins is the fourth player in SJU annals to earn the league’s Player of the Year honor and first since sharpshooter Pat Carroll in 2004-05.

A five-time Player of the Week selection this season, Nivins is joined on the All- Conference first-team by Christmas, Jimmy Baron of Rhode Island, Aaron Jackson of Duquesne and Xavier’s B.J. Raymond. Christmas is vying to become the league’s first-ever three-time scoring champion, while James is the first Duquesne player to garner first-team distinction since Mike James in 1997-98. The All-Conference second-team consists of Gaffney, Richmond’s Kevin Anderson, Derrick Brown of Xavier, Rodney Green of La Salle and Dayton’s Chris Wright. The third-team includes Lisch, Lavoy Allen of Temple, Massachusetts’ Ricky Harris, Lamont Mack of Charlotte and Rhode Island’s Kahiem Seawright.

Xavier’s C.J. Anderson, David Gonzalvez of Richmond, Dayton’s Marcus Johnson, Chris Lowe of UMass, and Damian Saunders of Duquesne earned honorable mention acclaim.

A program-record six-time A-10 Rookie of the Week selection, Nicholson enters this week’s A-10 Championship as the top freshman nationally in both blocked shots (79) and field goal percentage (.607 – 150-of-246). The Mississauga, Ontario, native is tied for second on the team in scoring (12.8 ppg.) and third in rebounding (6.0 rpg.) and scored in double figures in 20 of the Bonnies’ 29 contests. The 6-9 forward is the first SBU freshman to garner Rookie of the Year honors since Alvin Lott in 1983-84.

Nicholson is joined on the All-Rookie team by Melquan Bolding of Duquesne, Fordham’s Jio Fontan, Dayton’s Chris Johnson and Kwamain Mitchell of Saint Louis.

With 113 blocks and 59 steals entering Massachusetts’ opening round contest versus Duquesne on Mar. 11, Gaffney is the first player nationally since Shelden Williams (Duke, 2005-06) to register 100 blocks and 50 steals in a season. The senior forward leads the A-10 in blocks (3.90 bpg.), ranks second in rebounding (10.2 rpg.) and steals (2.03 spg.) and pulled down at least 10 rebounds in 18 of the Minutemen’s 29 games.

The All-Defensive team is comprised of Gaffney, Allen, Nivins, Dayton’s London Warren and Garrett Williamson of Saint Joseph’s.

Jackson was tabbed the Atlantic 10’s Chris Daniels Award, presented to the Conference’s most improved player. A year ago, the Hartford, Conn., resident averaged nine points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists. This season, the senior guard has blossomed into one of the most complete players in the Conference, ranking in the top five of the league in scoring (third – 18.3 ppg.), assists (third – 5.79 apg.), field goal percentage (fourth – .543) and steals (fifth – 1.72 spg.). The versatile James has provided a spark off the bench for the Rams as a junior, averaging 10.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in just 24.2 minutes per game. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native ranks third on the team in assists (65) and has a pair of 20-point performances to his credit.

A two-time Academic All-Conference selection, Lisch is averaging a team-leading 14.2 points and also leads the Billikens in three-pointers (69) and steals (37) en route to earning All-Conference honors for the second consecutive year. In the classroom, the Belleville, Ill., resident boasts a 3.48 grade point average while majoring in Business Administration. He was named to the 2008-09 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine All-America third-team.

Joining Lisch on the Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference Team is Baron, Massachusetts’ Luke Bonner, Jason Duty of Duquesne and La Salle’s Yves Mekongo Mbala.

Selected by the league’s head coaches and media to finish ninth in the A-10 preseason poll, Baron led Rhode Island to an 11-5 league mark and 22-9 overall record. URI enters the Championship as the second seed and boasts the league’s highest scoring offense, averaging 80.1 ppg. The only coach in league history to earn A-10 Coach of the Year honors at two different schools, Baron was tabbed as the Conference’s Coach of the Year in 1995 while at St. Bonaventure and at Rhode Island in both 2003 and 2007. In eight seasons at URI, Baron is 130-116 (.528) and 336-318 overall (.514).

2008-09 ATLANTIC 10 MEN’S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS First-Team School Cl. Pos. Ht. Hometown PPG RPG Asts Stls Blks

First-Team

Jimmy Baron Rhode Island Sr. G. 6-3 East Grennwich, R.I. 16.8 2.7 60 22 2
Dionte Christmas Temple Sr. G 6-5 Philadelphia, Pa. 19.2 6.1 88 41 5
Aaron Jackson Duquesne Sr. G 6-4 Hartford, Conn. 18.3 5.7 168 50 3
Ahmad Nivins Saint Joseph’s Sr. F 6-9 Jersey City, N.J.     19.2 11.7 32 19 55
B.J. Raymond Xavier Sr. G/F 6-6 Toledo, Ohio 13.8 4.2 46 17 12 

Second-Team

Kevin Anderson Richmond So. G 5-11 Duluth, Ga. 16.2 2.9 82 44 2
Derrick Brown Xavier Jr. F 6-8 Dayton, Ohio 13.8 6.1 61 21 28
Tony Gaffney Massachusetts Sr. F 6-8 Berkley, Mass. 11.5 10.2 49 59 113
Rodney Green La Salle Jr. G 6-5 Philadelphia, Pa. 17.6 4.9 105 56 5
Chris Wright Dayton So. F 6-8 Trotwood, Ohio 13.1 6.5 29 28 37  

Third-Team

Lavoy Allen Temple So. F 6-9 Morrisville, Pa. 11.1 8.6 62 13 48
Ricky Harris Massachusetts Jr. G 6-2 Baltimore, Md. 18.2 2.9 44 37 5
Kevin Lisch Saint Louis Sr. G 6-2 Belleville, Ill. 14.2 3.4 75 37 1
Lamont Mack Charlotte Sr. F 6-7 Chicago, Ill. 15.1 5.6 27 24 10
Kahiem Seawright Rhode Island Sr. F 6-8 Uniondale, N.Y. 13.8 7.4 68 25 31

Honorable Mention

C.J. Anderson Xavier Sr. G/F 6-6 Cincinnati, Ohio 10.2 5.6 68 19 17
David Gonzalvez Richmond Jr. G 6-4 Marietta, Ga. 15.6 4.6 59 39 14
Marcus Johnson Dayton Jr. G 6-3 Cleveland, Ohio 12.1 3.2 50 26 15
Chris Lowe Massachusetts Sr. G 6-0 Mount Vernon, N.Y. 12.1 3.0 190 22 2
Damian Saunders Duquesne So. F 6-7 Waterbury, Conn. 13.3 7.9 66 66 66 

Rookie Team

Melquan Bolding Duquesne Fr. G/F 6-4 Mount Vernon, N.Y. 9.0 4.1 34 28 6
Jio Fontan Fordham Fr. G 5-11 Patterson, N.J. 15.3 2.7 132 33 3
Chris Johnson Dayton Fr. G/F 6-5 Columbus, Ohio 6.5 5.4 18 17 5
Kwamain Mitchell Saint Louis Fr. G 5-10 Milwaukee, Wis. 10.0 3.2 106 35 1
Andrew Nicholson St. Bonaventure Fr. F 6-9 Mississauga, Ontario 12.5 6.0 7 79 16 

Defensive Team

Lavoy Allen Temple So. F 6-9 Morrisville, Pa. 11.1 8.6 62 13 48
Tony Gaffney Massachusetts Sr. F 6-8 Berkley, Mass. 11.5 10.2 49 59 113
Ahmad Nivins Saint Joseph’s Sr. F 6-9 Jersey City, N.J.     19.2 11.7 32 19 55
London Warren Dayton Jr. G 6-0 Jacksonville, Fla. 4.2 2.7 126 48 4
Garrett Williamson Saint Joseph’s Jr. G 6-5 Lower Merion, Pa. 5.9 3.7 135 43 36

Academic Team

Jimmy Baron Rhode Island Sr. G 6-3 East Greenwich, R.I. Communication Studies
Luke Bonner Massachusetts Gr. C 7-1 Concord, N.H. Sports Management
Jason Duty Duquesne Jr. G 6-1 Cranberry Township, Pa. Accounting
Kevin Lisch Saint Louis Sr. G 6-2 Belleville, Ill. Business Administration
Yves Mekongo Mbala La Salle Jr. F 6-7 Elizabeth, N.J. Integrated Science & Business Technology

Player of the Year: Ahmad Nivins, Saint Joseph’s

Rookie of the Year: Andrew Nicholson, St. Bonaventure

Defensive Player of the Year: Tony Gaffney, Massachusetts

Chris Daniels Most Improved Player of the Year: Aaron Jackson, Duquesne

Sixth Man of the Year: Delroy James, Rhode Island

Student-Athlete of the Year: Kevin Lisch, Saint Louis

Coach of the Year: Jim Baron, Rhode Island

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

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 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.

January 31, 2009 | AP Press

CINCINNATI, OH – Derrick Brown matched his career high with 23 points Saturday, and No. 10 Xavier used its balance and free-throw shooting to hold on for an 82-80 victory over Massachusetts, its 10th straight win.

B.J. Raymond added 22 points and C.J. Anderson had 19 for the Musketeers (19-2, 7-0), who remained unbeaten atop the Atlantic 10. This one was in doubt down to the final rebound. Anderson got that off Chris Lowe’s purposely missed free throw with 3 seconds left.

UMass (7-12, 2-4) set a pedal-to-the-metal pace on offense and kept it a game by forcing Xavier into a season-high 23 turnovers, but couldn’t break through in the closing minutes. Ricky Harris led the Minutemen with 17 points.

The shot clock rarely came into play in a fast-paced game of catch the ball and shoot — a pace that suits UMass but not the Musketeers. Brown, Raymond and Anderson were a combined 24-for-32 from the field, and made the biggest plays in the closing minutes.

The Minutemen stayed in the game by exploiting Xavier’s biggest weakness — a propensity for sloppy passes. UMass scored three straight baskets off turnovers early in the second half. Harris had a driving layup and a 3-pointer, and Lowe had a steal and layup that tied it at 58 with 11 minutes left.

There were three ties and six lead changes down the stretch, with neither team ahead by more than three points until the final minute. Raymond’s 3 and Anderson’s putback put Xavier ahead to stay, 78-74 with 53 seconds left.

Harris responded with a 3-pointer, then missed another one with 10 seconds to go. Raymond got the rebound and made both free throws for an 80-77 lead. Brown added two free throws.

Rather than let Lowe try to take a 3-pointer that would tie it, Xavier fouled him with 3 seconds left. He made the first and, after a timeout, missed the second, hoping UMass could get a tying putback. The ball was slapped around and Anderson came down with it.

The points piled up fast in the first half. UMass hit nine of its first 13 shots, while Xavier went 9-of-14. It didn’t take either team long to find an open shot and make it.

Xavier’s player with the can’t-miss touch temporarily took over the game.

Brown had a game this season when he didn’t miss, going 6-for-6 from the field and 5-for-5 from the free-throw line in a win over Saint Louis on Jan. 8. He made his first eight shots on Saturday, including a 3-pointer that started Xavier’s nine-point run in the first half.

His three-point play off a driving dunk made it 41-31 with 2:52 left in the half, the biggest lead of the game. Xavier shot 68 percent in the first half against one of the conference’s worst perimeter defenses.

January 24, 2009 | AP Press

BATON ROUGE, LA — Derrick Brown scored 22 points and No. 15 Xavier handed LSU its first home loss of the season, 80-70 on Saturday night.

Marcus Thornton scored 30 for LSU, his 3-pointer giving the Tigers (15-4) a 40-36 lead early in the second half. Brown responded with a pair of 3s to tie it at 44, and Xavier (17-2) gradually built a lead as large as 11 before holding on.

B.J. Raymond added 21 points for Xavier, driving past Thornton for a layup inside the last two minutes to put the Musketeers up 70-63. Kenny Frease also had 12 points.