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X-Men Escape Amherst with a "W"
By
Jay Skeldon,
2/3/2010
After enjoying three straight home wins, the Musketeers embarked on their first of a three game set on the road on Wednesday night at Massachusetts. The Minutemen gave Xavier all it could handle, but in the end Xavier was able to put together a 9-0 run in the final minutes to seal an 87-79 victory at the Mullins Center in Amherst. Jordan Crawford came up big for the Muskies, leading all scorers with 25 points on 8-of-15 shooting including 5-of-8 from 3-point range. He also added four rebounds and four assists as X improves its record to 16-6 including 8-1 in Atlantic 10 action. UMass, meanwhile, drop to 8-14 (2-6 A-10).
The game featured several swings as there were eight lead changes and eight ties. In the post game show, Xavier coach Chris Mack alluded to the game before a tale of two halves. In the first half, the Minutemen came out red hot. They drilled their first five shots to jump out to a 13-10 lead.
But then Xavier sprung to life. The team spouted off an eye-popping 18-0 offensive streak, catapulting X into the lead, 28-13, with 11:07 left to play. From there it was all Muskies for the balance of the half. The Musketeers, which shot 65 percent from the field in the first half, went into the break with a sizeable 50-33 lead.
The second period was a different story. UMass would not lie down easily as it run off an 11-2 streak after the break while the Musketeers' offense became dormant. Ricky Harris, who finished with 24 points for the game, initiated the spark and caused all sorts of problems for XU defenders with his penetration to the basket.
UMass was able to claw back into the game with a 16-4 run to take the lead, 63-62, with 7:28 remaining. After a few additional possessions, Xavier then went to work with the aforementioned 9-0 run. That stretch included two straight 3-pointers by Crawford and a 3-point play by Jamel McLean. That put X back out in front and provided some breathing room as the team closed out the game.
As a team, Xavier outrebounded UMass 34-31. In addition, the team shared the ball well, dishing 23 assists. Finally, the team shot the ball extremely well. X hit 32-of-54 shots from the field for 59.3 percent -- its second highest shooting percentage this season.
Besides Crawford's contributions, Terrell Holloway added 16 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Jason Love added 15 points and five rebounds, while Jamel McLean posted a double double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
UMass was led by Harris who scored 24 points. Freshmen Javorn Farrell (12 points) and Terrell Vinson (11 points) played impactful minutes as well for the Minutemen.
The Musketeers return back to the Queen City for a few days prior to making the trek up I-75 for its next road contest against rival Dayton. The game against the Flyers is set for Saturday, February 6 at high noon at UD Arena. The matchup is scheduled to be televised nationally on ESPN2.
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