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Cintas Streak Still Intact as X Holds Off UD
By
Jim Skeldon,
1/16/2010
 | Dante’ Jackson roars with approval as Xavier takes the lead in the second half.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |  | Mark Lyons makes a key steal late in the game.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |  | Terrell Holloway handles the Dayton pressure by going over a trap to deliver a pass.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |  | Jason Love gets an “and one” as he shoots and scores and is fouled by Dayton’s Chris Wright.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |  | Jamel McLean finds heavy pressure in the lane as three Dayton defenders contest his shot.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |  | After a picture perfect assist from Brad Redford, Kenny Frease slams in two points.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |
Xavier was picked in preseason to finish second in the Atlantic-10 Conference just under U.D. who was chosen to win it all. No one apparently told XU. The Muskies treated the hometown faithful, a sellout crowd, to a late morning (early afternoon) barn burner. In the end the Musketeer contingent prevailed over a pesky Flyer squad 78-74 at the Cintas Center. Interesting to note both teams felt they were time and battle tested entering into the contest. UD was riding high just about to enter the top 25 poll as they had several votes last week and a win over X probably propels them to number 25. But Xavier had other ideas.
The lead exchanged hands several times in the first half. Both squads found their respective scoring aces on the pine early due to foul trouble. Jordan Crawford for X and Dayton junior Chris Wright must have each been building up anxiety seeing their respective teams miss their offensive production.
The Flyers eecked out a first half victory outscoring the Muskies, 39-36. The X boys had a chance to come within one as Andrew Taylor received an in bounds pass with one second on the shot clock but couldn’t get his shot off in time, resulting in a turnover and a half time deficit for Xavier.
Dante Jackson played two great halves earning him the MVP of the game award. He finished the half with 11 points and tallied 19 for the game. Terrell Holloway, along with Dante, kept the Muskies in the game the first half with Terrell garnering 10 points (one FG) along the way.
The second half was a bit different. XU had to tighten up the “D” a little bit while banging it inside more often on offense. The plan seemed to work as Jason Love ended up with 10 points.
Then, Jordan Crawford after having only 2 first half points erupted for 14 second half scores, several on inside drives and mid range jumpers. Terrell Holloway ended up with 15 points, 13 out of 14 from the charity line.
But Dante was the difference in the ball game his 19 points and four rebounds. He also played great on the defensive end. Andrew Taylor looked like a veteran as he filled in capably as a substitute.
Brad Redford was 2-3 from treyville as he kept the Flyer defense honest scoring 6 long range points.
For the Dayton five, the leading scorer was Marcus Johnson with 17 points followed by Rob Lowrey's 13. Both Chris Wright and Chris Jones each scored 10 points each for the Flyers. Brian Gregory's Flyer Squad did, however, win the battle of the boards by a rather large margin, 51 to 34. If Xavier wants to win at UD on Feb. 6th, 2010 getting more rebounds will be a high priority.
For today winning the Blackburn/McCafferty trophy will have to serve as a nice substitute if there are any lingering effects for being out rebounded, which is the only meaningful stat that XU actually lost.
Xavier had only 8 turnovers while the Dayton Flyers had a game high 12. It was a bit unusual to see both teams control the ball so well when the defensive sides were pushing the offenses out and applying great ball pressure in the halfcourt.
The battle ready time tested contest did have its moments of "patience needed." The clock malfunctioned at least three times, yet again proving neither team, although battle tested may not have been time tested at all !!!
But in the end the Muskies proved who still is the number one team in the conference upping their record to 12-5 and 4-0 in the Atlantic 10 while Dayton slips to 13-4 and 2-1 in the conference. XU has now won 8 of the last 9 games played against UD and 17 of the last 21.
The Muskies will rest tomorrow and get back at it in time to travel to Philadelphia for a Jan. 20th,Wednesday night tipoff at 7:00pm against the Owls from Temple.
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