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Add Another Harris to Burrell's List
2/2/2008
 | Derrick Brown goes in for the slam following the opening tip.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |  | Drew Lavender goes by and under the tall timber for 2 of his 10 points.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |  | Intense defense has become the trademark of Stanley Burrell’s senior season.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |
Eric Gordon. Deonta Vaughn. Chris Lofton. Sean Singletary. Brian Roberts. Ricky Harris. After tonight, you can add another Harris to that list—Darnell. Not only does this list represent some of the best guards from around the country, but it also represents those guards who have recently felt the wrath of Stanley Burrell.
The latest victim came in averaging 16.4 ppg and shooting a blistering 54% from beyond the arc, tops in the conference. He was fresh off a 7-for-7 performance from long range in LaSalle’s most recent victory against St. Bonaventure last Wednesday. Today, Burrell handcuffed Harris to the tune of 4 points on 2-9 shooting.
With Burrell’s—and the rest of the team’s—customary defensive prowess, the Muskies (18-4, 6-1) were able to hold off the pesky LaSalle Explorers 75-62 on Saturday night at the Cintas Center.
The LaSalle team represented several tough match-ups for the Musketeers. In particular, LaSalle PG Rodney Green (6-5) was often found posting up XU point man, Drew Lavender (5-7).
Additionally, LaSalle freshman, Jerrell Williams (6-8, 210), was able to take the bigger Jason Love (6-9, 255) off the dribble on several occasions. Regardless of the mis-matches, the X-Men held LaSalle to 62 points, 12 below their season average.
13 seconds into the game, XU raced off to a 3-0 start, thanks to a beautiful alley-oop from Lavender to Derrick Brown. The Explorers kept it close in the first half and took a 4-point lead, 16-20, with 11:06 to play on a lay-up by Kimmani Barrett. That was as close as they would get for the rest of the contest.
Using a 17-4 run from that point forward, XU was able to distance themselves from LaSalle and went into the half with a 37-30 lead.
Typical of the current XU team, balanced scoring and rebounding were the name of the game. They were led by the steady play of C.J. Anderson (16 pts, 7 rebs) and Josh Duncan (12 pts, 6 rebs). Brown chipped in 11 and 7, including four monster flushes. Burrell finished with 11 pts and 4 assists. Love and Lavender scored 10 a piece.
The youngsters led the way for LaSalle. Sophomore Rodney Green looks like he has a bright future, as he finished with 18 points on 8-13 shooting. Freshman Jerrell Williams threw in 16 and pulled down 7 boards. Sophomore Yves Mekongo Mbala recorded the game’s only double-double with 13 and 11.
The Explorers out-rebounded the Muskies 34-32—a tall trait considering Xavier’s +7.5 rebounding margin coming into the game.
Looking ahead, Xavier travels to St. Louis to take on the Billikens on Thursday evening at 9 pm. SLU presents a tough challenge as they are difficult at home, and they like to slow the pace of the game down considerably. They own home wins against Rhode Island and Massachusetts, whom they disposed of on Saturday afternoon.
The Muskies will need to bring their defensive intensity to the Scottrade Center on Thursday. Next up on Stanley’s list: Tommie Liddell.
 |  | C. J. Anderson creating offense on his way to a team high 16 points.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens | Freshmen Dante’ Jackson receives some tutoring from Coach Sean Miller.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |
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