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Muskies Outlast Knights
11/5/2011
 | | Mark Lyons weaves through the entire Bellarmine defense and gets to the rim.[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |  | | And it begins – the first tip of the 2011 - 2012 season.[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |  | | Freshman Dez Wells playing tight defense.[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |
It was starting to seem like it would be deja vu all over again for the Musketeers in their season opening exhibition game. Last year, the same Bellarmine team that Xavier faced tonight beat them 63-61 in a stunner. The Knights hit several key three pointers and some big free throws down the stretch to defeat Xavier. But the Muskies were bound and determined not to let history repeat itself. This time, they were the ones that sealed the game with clutch free throws, winning 76-73.
"It definitely felt like it," junior guard Mark Lyons said, when asked if it felt like last year, "They have a great team and can compete with anyone in division one. But this year, we had guys coming off the bench to give us a breather."
Even with that expanded depth, Lyons, Kenny Frease, and Tu Holloway did most of the heavy lifting for the offense. Mark led the team with 20 points and 6 assists, while knocking down both of his three point attempts. Frease, meanwhile, finished with a double double, recording 18 points and 10 rebounds, while making his first 6 shots.
"I mean, those first 6 shots were really just good passes," Kenny said, "I just had a lot of confidence in the post tonight with the ball - I knew what I had to do to be successful."
And, of course, Tu Holloway did what he always does. He didn't look all that sharp at times, but he still managed to finish with 18 points, while sealing the game with four free throws in the final 12 seconds of the game.
But still, the Knights almost pulled this one out. Particularly because they knocked down 12 three pointers, compared to Xavier's four.
"It was almost deja vu," Coach Chris Mack stated. "Bellarmine is an excellent team, which is the reason we schedule them in the first place. But half way through that second half, I was starting to wonder why I scheduled them again. But there's a reason they were national champions last year. We won't play a lot of teams the rest of the way that can shoot the ball like they can."
Coming off the bench, Andre Walker had a nice game for Xavier, scoring 6 points, with 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. For a big guy, he looked good in space.
"Andre is a high IQ player. He's been in college basketball for four plus years now, and he's still learning our system, but he's a great player," Mack praised Walker. "He's an excellent passer, plays tremendous defense, and just knows how to play."
Through tough stretches in this game, it was clear that this team knew how to play. It wasn't easy. There were mental errors, turnovers, and poor fouls across the board. But the depth of Xavier played a large factor in the game, considering Holloway, Lyons, and Frease were all able to get rest. Jeff Robinson's ability to provide quality minutes was huge. Dez Wells, Dee Davis, and Justin Martin all got into the game and made key contributions with their play to help this team. Clearly, Xavier has weapons to use, even when they are not firing on all cylinders.
"We just have better players this year," Lyons said. "And that's no disrespect to last year's guys. But Walker is so versatile. And we've got Dez and Martin. There's just so many pieces to take that pressure off the team and the backcourt."
Speaking of that backcourt, Brad Redford made his return to Xavier's lineup, after suffering an ACL injury last year. He got a pair of raucous ovations from the crowd when he entered the game. And though he missed on both of his three point attempts, it was a reminder of just how deep this team runs, that a shooter of Redford's caliber only played 7 minutes.
That depth was tested tonight. And it will be all season with the rigorous schedule.
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