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Xavier Handles Saint Joseph's
2/17/2010
 | Freshman Mark Lyons maneuvers around the St. Joe defense for two of his career-high 19 points.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |  | Kenny Frease fights for a basket.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |  | Jamel McLean holds on after slamming in two of his 14 points.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |  | Jordan Crawford grabs one of his four steals.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |  | Terrell Holloway is hacked as he drives to the basket..
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |  | Dante’ Jackson and Jordan Crawford have some fun during a time out late in the second half.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |
Perception isn’t always reality. If you think about the Saint Joseph’s Hawks, you think, good team not great. They have been better, by far, than their more recent seasons. Remember Delonte West and that other guy, Jameer Nelson -- weren't they terrific? But, didn't X knock them out of the Atlantic 10 Tourney in Dayton that year though? Seems like XU has owned them! Well, perception isn't always reality. Going into Wednesday evening's match-up between the two teams, Saint Joe’s held the series edge, 21-16.
Unfortunately for the Hawks, this season they are playing without the stalwarts West and Nelson. Additionally, they have a young team without any big player names. They were good enough to beat Dayton earlier in the year in Philly.
However the perception of the Hawks being a team that Xavier "owns" was the reality tonight as the Xavier Musketeers whipped the visitors, 88-52, before a crowd of 10,101 loyal fans.
With the win, X improves its record to 18-7 overall and 9-2 in the conference with the victory. Xavier has now won a league leading 22 straight home victories.
At intermission, X was out in front, 40-28. The rebounds were plentiful for Xavier as they led by an impressive 29-6 margin at halftime. Unfortunately, XU was a little to loose with the ball as turned the ball over 11 times.
In the second half, Xavier stretched the lead to over 20 points at the 12:44 mark and never looked back. When the final horn sounded, the margin of victory had ballooned to a whopping 36 points.
The Muskies were led by Jordan Crawford who scored 20 points, recorded four assists, and pulled down four rebounds.
Mark Lyons had his best seasonal effort to date scoring 19 points on a near perfect 6-of-7 from the field.
Jason Love finished with another double-double, scoring 15 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Love and McClean combined for 21 rebounds to out perform the entire Hawk squad in rebounds for the night.
The rebound margin was an amazing 36 in total as XU outrebounded the "predator hawks" by 53-17. McClean also scored 14 points in a very strong effort.
XU did have some sloppiness issues taking care of the basketball as they finished out the game with 19 turnovers, many of which were unforced. By comparison Saint Joe's only had 12.
Saint Joseph's was led by Senior Garrett Williamson as he knocked down 17 points and teammate Chris Prescott chipped in with 9 markers.
The Hawks seemingly fall out of contention with the loss and most hopes of going to the A-10 Tournament become next year's dream. Saint Joe’s now sports a 9-17 overall record and a meager 3-9 in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Next up for Xavier is a return back to the road as it meets up with Charlotte on Saturday, February 20. Game time is set for 2:00 p.m. and will be televised live on FSN Ohio.
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