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UD Flies Past Muskies on Icy Afternoon
By
Jay Skeldon,
2/6/2010
It was a white-out inside and outside UD Arena on Saturday afternoon. The cold and icy weather that descended upon Southwest Ohio also impacted the Musketeers' offense and defense. The Flyers had payback on their mind as they crushed the visiting XU squad, 90-65, before a sold-out arena. Xavier's Jordan Crawford led all scorers with a game-high 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting, but it was not enough to stave off UD's rabid and aggressive attack. With the loss, Xavier's four game winning streak comes to a halt as the Muskies (16-7, 8-2) drop out of first place in the Atlantic 10. UD, meanwhile, ups its record to 16-6 (5-3 A-10).
Things did not start or finish well for the Musketeers. XU senior center and captain Jason Love picked up two quick and early fouls with just over one minute into the game. That sent Love to the bench and created a void on both ends of the court for Xavier.
The Flyers quickly took advantage and jumped out to a 12-3 lead before XU head coach Chris Mack attempted to stop the bleeding with a thirty second timeout with 15:42 left. That nine point lead would balloon to 14 in the next minute and a half. The Flyers would maintain a comfortable double-digit margin for the balance of half save one possession when XU pulled within nine points. At half, Dayton led 39-26.
The second half did not play out any better for the X-Men as the team's defense was porous and ineffective against the Flyers. Dayton's guards Rob Lowery (16 points), London Warren (7 points), and Mickey Perry (7 points) carved up the Musketeer guards both inside and outside. Lowery and Warren also combined for eight assist and four steals.
Xavier was able to pull within 11 points, 60-49, with 10:33 left in the game. But, the Flyers immediately squelched any notion of a Musketeer comeback as they outscored XU, 30-16 for the balance of the half to finish out the 25 point blowout win.
Besides Crawford, the only other Musketeer to reach double figures in scoring was Terrell Holloway, who scored 12 points. Dante Jackson chipped in nine points, while Jamel McLean finished with seven points and rebounds apiece.
UD beat Xavier in nearly every facet of the game including the key statistical categories of rebounds and shooting. The Flyers controlled the glass with a 42-24 advantage including 12-8 on offensive boards. UD also outshot the X-Men from the field, 56.4 percent to 37.5 percent.
Xavier now has a week layoff before it returns to action on Saturday, February 13 to faceoff against Florida. The game is set for 6:00 p.m. in Gainesville and will be broadcast by ESPN.
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