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Muskies Celebrate on Senior Night
By
Jay Skeldon,
3/8/2008
 | A happy group of Musketeers celebrate back-to-back Atlantic 10 championships.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |
 | Senior Stanley Burrell celebrates senior night in style by helping cut down the net after Xavier won its second straight A10 regular season title.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |
 | Jason Love likes the result as he jams one through the net as Gaston Moliva commits one of Richmond’s 33 personal fouls.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |
 | B. J. Raymond earns three points the old fashioned way en route to a team high 23 points.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |
On a cold, snowy night in Cincinnati, it was a time of celebration at Cintas Center. Before the game against Richmond, the Musketeers honored their three seniors, Stanley Burrell, Drew Lavender, and Josh Duncan, who played their final home game at Xavier. On the court, No. 8 Xavier celebrated with an 86-61 win over the Spiders. B.J. Raymond led all scorers with 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting including 5-of-9 from 3-point range.
After the game, the team, students, and fans celebrated together its school record 26th win of the regular season and Xavier's second straight Atlantic 10 Championship by cutting down the nets. XU heads to the A-10 tournament in Atlantic City with a 26-5 overall record (14-4 A-10), while Richmond falls to 16-13 (9-7).
The Musketeers played without the services of their senior point guard leader, Drew Lavender. Lavender apparently decided to sit out to allow for additional healing time for his recovering ankle prior to the start of the A-10 Tournament this week.
In lieu of Lavender, the Musketeers once again received contributions from multiple players. Five players scored in double figures including Raymond, Duncan (13 points), Derrick Brown (13 points), C.J. Anderson (12 points), and Burrell (11 points). Balanced scoring has defined the Musketeers success this season as the team features six players in double-figures scoring. The X-Men are now an unblemished 20-0 this season when four or more players score in double figures.
With a quick turnaround after a tough loss to Saint Joseph's in Philadelphia on Thursday night, the Muskies got out of the gate slowly against Richmond. The Spiders jumped out to an 11-5 lead in the first five minutes of the contest. UR, which features a unique Princeton-style offense, looked as if it intended to play spoiler against Xavier on its Senior Night. But, Raymond nailed a 3-pointer and a jumper to pull X within one, 11-10.
Richmond then responded with a 3-pointer by Ryan Butler, pushing the lead to 14-10.
Xavier reversed the momentum by getting the ball in the hands of Raymond and C.J. Anderson. Raymond nailed three 3-pointers in the first half and Anderson sliced through the Richmond defense, as X spurted on a 14-3 run to capture the lead, 24-17, and take control of the game.
At halftime, the Muskies enjoyed a 32-26 lead.
Xavier opened the second half with an amazing 22-3 run to go ahead, 54-29, and effectively put the game out of reach. The run was equally impressive on the offensive and defensive ends of the court. X held the Spiders to a paltry three points in the first eight minutes after intermission by playing lock down defense and giving UR no second chances.
The Musketeers nearly doubled up Richmond on the glass, outrebounding them, 40-21. Brown and Anderson led the Muskies with eight and six rebounds, respectively.
Towards the end of the first half, Xavier found the secret to crack the Richmond zone -- getting the ball into the middle of the paint. XU made a focused effort of feeding the ball inside and it worked as the team outscored UR in the paint, 26-16. Anderson, Duncan, and Brown found their spots around the lane, and Burrell (4 assists) did an excellent job of getting them the ball.
The interior play opened up the offense for better shots. In addition, the out-manned, smaller Richmond squad was forced to foul -- 33 times for the game, to be exact.
Xavier moved into the bonus just six minutes into the second half and capitalized from the foul line. The Musketeers shot a season high 43 free throws, converting 36 of those for 83.7 percent. Richmond, meanwhile, hit just 9-of-17 from the stripe.
Richmond freshman point guard Kevin Anderson scored 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting for the Spiders. Harper added 11 points in the losing effort.
The Musketeers will enjoy their celebrations this evening and then get back to work on Sunday as they begin preparations for the postseason. Through their first place conference finish, the Musketeers earn a #1 seed and a bye in the A-10 Tournament, which begins on Wednesday, March 12 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
The first game for X will be on Thursday, March 13 in the Quarterfinals against the winner of the #8 Dayton / #9 Saint Louis game. Tipoff for Thursday's game, which will be televised on CSTV, is set for Noon.
2008 A-10 Men's Basketball Championship Bracket
 | Senior Drew Lavender rested his injured ankle against Richmond, but he has been a big part of the Musketeers two consecutive A10 regular season titles.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |
 | Senior Josh Duncan muscles one last rebound at the Cintas Center as he plays his last home game.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |
 | Derrick Brown glides past two Richmond defenders for 2 of his 13 points.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |
 | Coach Sean Miller holds the first, but hopefully not the last, championship net of the season.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |
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