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Mack & Muskies Roll in Opener
By
Jay Skeldon,
11/14/2009
 | Jamel McLean wins the opening tip of the 09-10 season.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |  | Chris Mack signals to his offense as he starts his career as Xavier’s head coach with a victory.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |  | Newcomer Mark Lyons wraps around the defense for two points.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |
 | Jordan Crawford blows by a defender for two of his team high 14 points.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |
The Chris Mack Chapter officially tipped off on Friday night as Xavier rolled past Youngstown State at Cintas Center, 83-57. The Muskies continued their up-tempo style as debuted in the exhibition games as five players finished in double figures scoring.
Sophomore guard Jordan Crawford finished atop the game's scoring leaders with 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting while pulling down five rebounds. With the victory, Xavier and Mack start the season a perfect 1-0, while the Penguins drops to 0-1. The Musketeers have now won 20 straight season openers including a perfect 10-0 at Cintas.
The first four minutes of the game set the tempo as the Musketeers roared to a 8-0 lead on a Terrell Holloway 3-pointer and a old fashioned 3-point play and a pair of free throws by junior Jamel McLean.
YSU managed to score its first point against Xavier's active and extended defense just before the first television timeout with 16:00 minutes left.
By the next media break, the lead was extended to 12 at 19-7. XU then played add-on, piping the margin to as high as 25 points on two Brad Redford free throws with 4:27 left in the half. By this point, the eventual outcome of the game was settled - from here, it was just a matter of by how much X would win.
Redford provided firepower to the Xavier offensive burst with his deadly 3-point shooting. He nailed three 3-pointers in the first clip. Both the frontcourt and the backcourt made a point of finding Redford as he worked to get open, and it paid off. He finished with 11 points on 3-of-7 shooting, one assist, and no turnovers in 19 minutes of action.
Xavier's point guards turned in a solid performance behind the efforts of Holloway and redshirt freshman Mark Lyons. The duo finished with 10 and 12 points, respectively, and three assists apiece. Holloway, who also did not turn the ball over, buried a pair of 3-pointers finish 2-of-3 from long range.
The Musketeer inside game was anchored by senior Jason Love. He established his presence in the paint with 12 point and eight rebound effort. McLean added seven and seven, while sophomore Kenny Frease added five points and six rebounds.
XU finished the game shooting a hot 51.1 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from 3-point range. The team took advantage of the 23 personal fouls committed by Youngstown State by converting at the foul line. The X-Men drilled 81.1 percent from the stripe.
Youngstown State was led by Vytas Sulskis who scored 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Sirlester Martin added 11 points in the losing effort for the visitors.
With the first game in the book, Xavier looks to make it two straight against Bowling Bowling Green State University. The Musketeers host the Falcons, who are coached by former Xavier assistant Louis Orr, at Cintas Center on Tuesday night.
The Cincinnati native got his start in coaching under X's head coach, Pete Gillen, coaching four years at Xavier from 1991 to 1994.
Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. and will be produced by Fox Sports Net Ohio. Please check the listings at FSN to find which channel will be carrying the game in your area.
 | "That’s gotta hurt" – a Youngstown State guard crashes into jumbo size Kenny Frease.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |
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