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Xavier Defense Smothers Bulldogs
11/25/2011
 | | Kenny Frease yells his approval after a dunk.[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |  | | Junior Mark Lyons encounters heavy defensive pressure as he attempts to go to the basket.[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |  | | Dez Wells looks to score above the Georgia defense.[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |  | | Freshman Justin Martin is fouled as he attempts to lay the ball in the basket[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |  | | Head Coach Chris Mack voices his disapproval about a call in the first half.[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |
At the 12:37 mark in the first half, Georgia's Donte Williams slammed home a dunk. It was the Bulldogs' first points of the game, and they were down 10-2. It never got any better for Mark Fox's team in Xavier's 70-56 victory. From the opening tip, Xavier completely dominated the game offensively and defensively, even though they let Georgia back into the game towards the end.
"We tried to play hard each and every play," junior Travis Taylor said of his team's defensive effort, "Coach talked about in practice the other day that if we play 66 plays, we gotta play hard every play - 66 plays. So it's just playing hard."
Offensively, it was a performance reminiscent of days in 2007-08, where Xavier nearly had 6 players average 10+ points per game. In those days, it was Josh Duncan, Drew Lavender, Derrick Brown, and C.J. Anderson leading the way. Tonight, it was Tu Holloway, Travis Taylor, Kenny Frease, and Mark Lyons. Defensively, at least for the first 33 minutes, it was a performance worthy of those Xavier teams that have prided themselves so much on their toughness and defensive tenacity. Xavier got after the ball all night long, never allowing Georgia into an offensive rhythm until late in the game. The Bulldogs shot 32.1% for the game, and 21.4% in the first half. They never got their three point stroke going either, as they tossed up 26 three point attempts in their 56 total attempts from the floor, while making just 7.
"We played with a lot of energy throughout the game," said senior Tu Holloway, "Coach figures out the subs before the game, and coach told us that we were going to be subbing in and out throughout the game, every two, three minutes, and that's what we did today. We let Dee Davis get into the game in the first ten minutes and really just bring a lot of energy into the game. It's just really good to keep everybody fresh."
Nonetheless, Xavier struggled at times offensively. Tu Holloway never got it going, and only shot the ball 4 times the whole game. He finished with 12 points and a game high 4 assists. Going 8 for 8 from the free throw stripe helped Holloway's numbers a lot, who had an aching shooting hand from hurting himself in practice. Meanwhile, go-to scorer Mark Lyons also struggled, finishing with just 10 points, after averaging over 20 through his first three games.
While the guards struggled somewhat (in terms of what they normally do), Kenny Frease and Travis Taylor both had excellent games. They combined for 22 points and 21 rebounds, while eating up Georgia down low. Throw in 6 apiece from Dez Wells and Andre Walker, as well as a pair of three pointers from sharp shooter Brad Redford, and the Musketeers found a way to spread the offense around.
"It makes the game a lot easier for me, I don't have to force the issue at times," Holloway said of his options, "I don't have to take bad shots at bad times because I'm trying to make plays. As a point guard, that's what I want. If I was a shooting guard, maybe [having all these options] might make me mad. It makes me happy that I can dish the ball to Trav, or drive and kick it out to Dee Davis."
Again, Xavier seemed to be energized by Dee Davis coming off the bench, who picked the Bulldogs' pockets twice for steals, and knocked down a big three. He finished with just 5 points in 20 minutes, but his defense seems to set the tone for the team at times. When Xavier has aggressive and tough defenders like Lyons, Davis, and Taylor out there, it's tough to get the offense going. Georgia found that out quickly, never getting anything going until Lyons took a seat with his fourth foul. Even though they trailed only 28-19 at halftime, Coach Mark Fox had burned 4 timeouts, and used his last quickly in the second half. Georgia could never control the tempo or keep Xavier from pulling away.
Xavier's aggressive play led to an offensive explosion in the second half, as they ripped off a 35-9 run, leading to a 63-27 lead. A Frease dunk in that run brought the crowd to its feet, and Xavier never looked back. But they did let off the pedal at the end, allowing a 29-7 run to end the game. And for that, Mack was none too pleased.
"I thought the first 34 minutes was as good as we've been all year," Coach Chris Mack assessed his team's effort, "Really proud of our kids' effort, intensity. Thought we really got after it. Didn't necessarily score a whole lot in the first half, but we didn't let it affect our defense. If anything, we continued to get stops. That led over into the second half when we had that mindset. The last 6 minutes, we played to score again. Not to discredit Georgia, because their kids played hard the whole game. But the final score was a 14 point game, when we had a 30-something point lead at one point."
The continual strive for better, consistent play will be something that Mack drives into his team all season. Again, the depth of this team showed tonight, as Xavier continually subbed and suffocated Georgia defensively. With Holloway banged up, Xavier loses this game last year. This year, the Muskies have a renewed attitude and sense of confidence. And when Mack gets that consistent play he is seeking for 40 minutes, look out.
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