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Muskies Survive First Leg of Roadtrip
1/29/2012
On a Saturday night in Charlotte, Xavier avenged their only loss from the A10 last year in Halton Arena. More importantly, they snapped their two game losing streak with a win over the Charlotte 49ers, 74-70. Regardless of the opponent, this is a game Xavier needed. Being 5-3 in the A10 looks better than .500. Now, the Musketeers (14-7, 5-3) continue their three game road swing with a trip to George Washington. Charlotte (10-10, 2-5), meanwhile, is left to pick up the pieces of what has become another lost season.
It wasn't always pretty, but Xavier hasn't been pretty at all this year. And it's not about style points anymore, just winning. The Muskies played good defense for stretches, but still hasn't shown the dominant form fans are used to. Offensively, though, Xavier was much more efficient. They shot 49.2% for the game, even with Mark Lyons having an off night, and Tu Holloway not shooting particularly well.
Jeff Robinson got his second straight start, but managed only 2 points in 16 minutes, as he was largely ineffective. Dez Wells and Kenny Frease, however, came to play. After disappointing games against St. Louis, they turned in 12 points each, while Wells collected 7 rebounds and Frease had 4. Travis Taylor came off the bench with 8 points and 6 rebounds, his best game since the tournament in Hawaii. And Brad Redford drilled a trio of threes, all coming at big times for the Musketeers.
The offensive production from other players was the key to the game, as Tu Holloway, despite 17 points and 7 assists, was just 5 of 13 from the field. Fellow play maker Mark Lyons struggled even more, going just 3 of 13, with only 7 points, after having put up a career night against the Billikens. He found other ways to contribute, though, with 5 assists and 3 steals. So, even when these dynamic guards aren't shooting lights out, they can still have significant impacts on the outcome of games. It's just up to the rest of the team. Tonight, they stepped up. Xavier had 18 assists and just 9 turnovers, their lowest turnover output since the game in Dayton
On the other side, the Muskies held the 49ers to 40% shooting, which isn't great, but it was enough to win. More importantly, they forced 14 turnovers. Xavier still has work to do, though. They were out-rebounded, again, 32-28, and got shredded in a similar pattern to the UD and SLU games. Forward Chris Braswell had 14 points, while DeMario Mayfield pulled down 10 boards with 13 points. And Javarris Barnett lit them up like SLU's Rob Loe did for a half. He finished with 27 points and 7 of 8 from three. Sometimes, though, you just have to tip your hat to someone who is unconscious like that.
Nonetheless, there was still the mental lapses, with the poor rotation and communication on defense. Xavier failed to close the game, as they've struggled with all year. But, the game was a team effort kind of win. It took some fortitude to hang on, as the 49ers made run after run. And though a win over Charlotte doesn't help an NCAA tournament resume, a loss would have been killer. Instead, Xavier lives to play another day.
Next up, Xavier travels to Washington D.C. to take on the George Washington Colonials (8-13, 3-4) on Wednesday.
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