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Three Pronged Attack Leads Muskies to Victory
11/15/2011
Sometimes they like to play basketball at the Cintas Center, but those times are sandwiched around moments that make it seem more like the Dez Wells show for the Musketeers. It's just Dez's world, and we are all living in it. While his alley oop dunk wasn't as impressive as last Friday's, it was still highlight worthy, and the Muskies continued to try to give Wells the ball in similar situations. They couldn't connect again, but it's clear that his play can completely energize the crowd.
Though Wells provided the highlight play, he wasn't the only one that really dominated that game in Xavier's 86-63 victory over the IPFW Mastadons. Everyone knew that in Tu Holloway's first game back from suspension, he'd get his normal 20+ points. And he did with 24 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and a pair of threes. But the impressive thing was that Mark Lyons continued his excellent play with 21 more points (19 of which came in the second half), and 4 threes to go with 5 assists. His shots wouldn't fall early, but he stuck with it, and got his in the second half. Same thing with Holloway, who looked to get his teammates involved early on, and then got his scoring done later.
"You know, it's great, having guys like that," Tu Holloway said, "Kenny is a great low post presence. Justin Martin is a 6'6", 6'7" forward that can step back and shoot. And Dez is a great slasher, he's a great freshman, one of the best in the country. I went through a stretch of the game today where I didn't have to shoot. Last year, I felt like I had to be aggressive every play and try to make a play. It's good just being a point guard, and sitting back, finding the spots to be aggressive."
Per usual, Holloway looked like dominant closer that he has been for the past year. He made his free throws down the stretch and seemingly was there for every big play in the second half. As the game progressed, he and Lyons took over, combining to score 35 of Xavier's 50 second half points. And if these two guards continue to dominate like this all year, combined with the slashing, shooting, sensational abilities of Dez Wells, the Musketeers will be tough to handle.
"Like Tu said, we have a lot of guys this year who can score," said Mark Lyons, "I was just trying to get them into the game. My shots weren't falling early, but I just didn't get down on myself. So I came out in the second half, really aggressive."
But it's not just those three which have such a significant impact on games. Chris Mack's ability to continually sub guys in and rotate fresh bodies at will. Andre Walker, Jeff Robinson, Justin Martin, Travis Taylor, and Kenny Frease all played significant minutes and made an impact. Taylor and Frease started, and though neither made big impacts, their ability to this season is unquestioned. Frease is the big body down low that they need to be that presence. Taylor is athletic enough to provide a significant presence on the glass, and his offensive game should develop over the course of the year.
Meanwhile, Jeff Robinson is the same kind of player that Taylor could become, a solid defender who does pretty much everything well. The athleticism that Xavier possesses at the forward position is incredible. And that includes Justin Martin's ability to step back and knock down the three. He hit a pair of them in the game. Andre Walker is the consummate, knowledgeable basketball player that every team desires. He can do a little bit of everything, including bring the ball up court in an emergency, which he did in a couple of fast breaks tonight.
The depth, however, isn't limited to only the front court, as the presence of Dee Davis, who hit a nice three late in the game, gives the Muskies three guys that can handle the ball. Xavier struggled later in the game, though, without Holloway and Lyons in the game, and Mack was forced to quickly substitute them back in after a pair of turnovers in trying to get the ball in. Clearly, the mix of youth and veteran leadership will be fun to watch all season, especially with the kind of versatility and athletic ability the players possess.
"I'm blessed as the head coach to have as many talented guys as we have. But also, I have to make sure they understand their roles, first and foremost," Coach Chris Mack said, "We have different combinations, we haven't settled into how we are going to look this early in the season. But as the season goes on, we have to do a bang up job as the coaching staff to set everyone up for success."
Xavier is still a work in progress. Their domination of the Mastadons looked good on paper, but there were stretches of the game (particularly late) where they struggled, again. Nonetheless, it was nice to see the Muskies jump out early and play well, unlike the first two games this year. Xavier's offense was not always entirely efficient, but they still shot an incredible 56.1% for the game. It will be interesting to see what this offense can do when everyone gets into the flow in a few games. Until then, the offense played solidly, and the defense was stifling, holding IPFW to 31.3% shooting.
"In the second half we fouled a little bit too much," Mack said, "It happened in game one, and game two. But a win's a win, and we will move forward, try to get better where we need to."
The victory becomes just another notch in Xavier's belt, as they climb the depths of their schedule, searching for the consistent 40 minutes that Chris Mack desires.
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