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Short-Handed Musketeers Outlast Ranked Tigers
2/27/2013
You could sense the inevitable collapse. The game played out exactly like the VCU game. Like so many other games Xavier had played this season.
A strong first half was followed by an offensive slump, while the opponent surged. The Musketeers were left to regroup, finding their large second half lead whittled away, now facing a deficit.
All year, Xavier has been shorthanded. On Tuesday night, it was worse. Dee Davis was unavailable after a (presumed) concussion against VCU. Landen Amos was unavailable. The Musketeers played with (essentially) six scholarship players. And they survived, 64-62 over the #19 Memphis Tigers, who had won 18 in a row.
It had been just three days since a 17 point lead against VCU vanished in the flash of an eye. And with 6:29 to go, Memphis had finished burying five three pointers in a little under three and a half minutes to climb to a 50-49 lead. Even with under two minutes to, the game was still in doubt. Xavier's lead was gone, and another heart wrenching loss was soon to follow.
But the Musketeers fought back, as they have done all season. This time, that extra effort and hustle ended with a good feeling.
“We all had a bad feeling after [the VCU] game,” junior forward Isaiah Philmore said. “We didn’t want to feel the same way.”
Philmore was part of the gritty effort Tuesday night, finishing with 15 points and six rebounds (five offensive). He often was creating his own shots, instead of finishing around the rim. Philmore has become effective with that, however, often getting the ball at the free throw line and driving to the hoop.
And when he couldn't finish, Travis Taylor was there to clean things up. He finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Their combined effort down low dwarfed the play of Memphis's big men, out-rebounding them 27-14 in the first half and 45-36 for the game.
“I love these kids. They don’t win every game, but they play their tails off,” Xavier coach Chris Mack said. “They scrap, they claw. They’re not the most talented group. They believe in one another. We’re far from perfect, but I don’t know how you can’t be a fan of our team with the effort they put in for our fans every single night.”
That effort shined in the first half, when Xavier dominated the tempo of the game and suffocated Memphis. The Tigers were held to a season low 20 points in the first period.
“I thought in the first half, that was an indication of where our energy was. We had an awful energy level,” Memphis coach Josh Pastner said. “I believe in energy and our energy in the first half stunk, which is a credit to Xavier.
"They kicked our butts.”
It was far from easy, though. Xavier's energy, particular Taylor, who scored nine of the Musketeers' first 11 points, faded early in the second half. They hung in the game, with Semaj Christon making layups on three straight possessions. He finished with 13 points on just 4-13 shooting with five rebounds and five assists. But he only turned the ball over once, after turning it over 10 times against the Rams.
That was key for Xavier, who turned it over just nine times against a pretty good Memphis defense. It was especially important after the debacle against VCU.
“I’m proud of our team, our kids. They battled. It wasn’t easy to come back off the loss against VCU. We put a lot of time, energy and sweat into that game, only to lose and turn right around and have to play one of the best teams in the country," Mack said.
But as time winded down, Xavier was still in a familiar position. They looked to be on the verge of another difficult loss. The energy and life came back under two minutes to go, however, from an unlikely source. Brad Redford, who played 32 minutes and was often tasked with guarding Memphis start Joe Jackson, drilled a three with 1:46 to go. It gave Xavier the lead, for good.
Redford finished with 10 points on 3-9 shooting (2-6 from three). He also only turned the ball over once. And he held Jackson to just 4-11 shooting and 11 points. It was an off night for him, while Redford stretched the Tigers' defense with his shooting ability.
Even after the three, however, Memphis hung around thanks to a poor inbounds pass from Justin Martin and bad free throw shooting. Luckily for Xavier (15-27 from the line), they found a worse foul shooting team than them. Memphis cost themselves the game by going 6-18 from the line.
Xavier will be back in action on Saturday afternoon at the Cintas Center to take on UMass and one of the most exciting players in the conference, Chaz Williams.
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