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With Loss to La Salle, Muskies in a Dangerous Spot
1/6/2012
Do you believe in must win games? Whether you do or not, it sure feels like the game Saturday at Fordham (7-7, 0-1) is a must win. Xavier (9-5, 0-1) can't afford to drop their second straight A10 game to open the conference season. Not after being embarrassed 80-70 at La Salle (11-4, 1-0). Any way you slice it, Xavier is in trouble, even against a Rams team they should easily be better than. But Fordham dropped #23 Harvard not too long ago, and can be a dangerous team in the small, intimate Rose Hill Gym.
Ever since the infamous brawl, the Musketeers have dropped 5 of 6 and don't look the same. They've gone from a dark horse final four team, to a team that is nearly on the bubble for the tournament. It's only early January, but for Xavier fans that are so used to success, many must be near ready to push the mythical panic button. Though it may not be quite that time yet, it is getting close. Remember, the last time Xavier lost 5 of 6, they ran off 15 of their next 16 in 03-04 before falling to Duke in the Elite 8 by 3. Is this team capable of that kind of run? With Holloway and Lyons, definitely. It has to start on the defensive side of the ball.
Xavier's defense was torched by the La Salle Explorers on Wednesday night, as they shot 40% from the field and drained 9 three pointers - 8 in the first half. Led by Earl Pettis' 23 and Ramon Galloway's 16, the Explorers built a commanding 46-30 halftime lead. Tyreek Duren and Sam Mills both chipped in 10 apiece, while Devon White came off the bench with 9. As a whole, La Salle was dominant early on, and slowed in stretches of the second half, giving Xavier an opportunity to regroup - that never happened. The Muskies cut the lead to 5 very late in the game before bad shot selection doomed Xavier, as it has all season.
Tu Holloway was a ghastly 2 of 12 from the field, finishing with 15 points, 11 from the free throw line. Dez Wells also had his best game of the season with 15, as he made 7 of 14 shots and pulled down 7 rebounds. Mark Lyons had 13, but struggled to get into the flow of the game as he and Holloway spent a lot of time taking jump shots without rotating and ball movement. It was killer, as Xavier shot 4 of 14 (28.6%) from three. Kenny Frease's disappointing season continued with just 10 points, and only 4 of 10 from the field.
The difference in the game ended up being the efficiency of the guard play. As a whole, Xavier had 12 assists and 14 turnovers. La Salle churned out 20 assists and only 7 turnovers. Numbers that poor will always negate winning the rebounding war, and compound the issues with the big guys down low and poor shot selection. Coach Mack and his crew have a lot of things to improve upon if they are going to get this team back on track.
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