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X Loses Heartbreaker Against K-State in 2OT
By
Jay Skeldon,
3/26/2010
Despite a valiant fight for the No. 6 seed Xavier Musketeers, their 2009-10 season came to a close on Thursday night. XU was edged by No. 2 seed Kansas State, 101-96, in the West Regional semifinals in double overtime in Salt Lake City. Xavier's Jordan Crawford led all scorers with 32 points on 13-of-29 shooting. It was Crawford's third straight dazzling performance of the tournament which on this night included a dramatic 35-feet triple that he drilled with four seconds left to tie the game in the first overtime.
The double overtime game was Xavier's fourth of the season. The Muskies finish the year with a 26-9 record while the Wildcats (29-7) moves on to face Butler in the Elite 8 on Saturday.
Crawford finished the three game set in the NCAA Tournament against Minnesota, Pitt, and Kansas State with sparkling offensive moves and statistics, scoring 28, 27, and 32 points.
In addition to Crawford, Terrell Holloway provided a clutch performance time and again down the stretch to position Xavier with an opportunity to win. Holloway drained three free throws after being fouled in the act of shooting a 3-pointer with five ticks remaining in regulation that sent the game to OT. The sophomore point guard from New York City finished with a gutsy 26 points, four rebounds, six assists, and three steals.
In the second overtime, K-State's Jacob Pullen stepped up large once again. He swished a 3-point field goal with 0:31 seconds remaining to push the Wildcats in front by three. X had a chance to tie, but Dante Jackson's 3-point attempt fell short at KSU held on for the victory.
Jackson finished with 11 points including 4-of-7 shooting and 3-of-6 from behind the arc. Senior Jason Love, the all-time winningest Musketeer, played his last game in a Xavier uniform. Love finished with a strong double-double effort of 11 points and 15 rebounds.
K-State was led by guards Pullen, who scored 28 points including 6-of-12 from 3-point range, and Denis Clemente who recorded 25 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Forward Curtis Kelley added 21 points.
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