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Muskie March Magic - X Defeats No. 3 Seed Pitt
By
Jay Skeldon,
3/21/2010
Xavier is headed to the Sweet 16 for the third straight year. The sixth seeded X-Men knocked off No. 3 Seed Pitt on Sunday afternoon, 71-68, avenging the Musketeers' loss last season to the Panthers (25-9) in the round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament. For the second straight game, Jordan Crawford sparkled in the spotlight of March Madness, finishing with a game-high 27 points on 9-of-15 shooting including 4-of-7 from 3-point range.
The Musketeers improve their record to 26-8 and advance to face No. 2 seed Kansas State in the West Regional semifinals in Salt Lake City on Thursday evening. XU's postseason success of late stands in rare air as Michigan State is the only other school besides Xavier to reach the Sweet 16 in the last three seasons.
The game opened in a defensive clash. Both Pittsburgh and Xavier played tight defense, limiting open looks and penetration opportunities. The teams were back and forth iwith Pitt holding the lead for the first 10 minutes of action with the exception of three ties. With 9:17 left, Pitt led the Muskies, 18-15. Xavier then went to work, zipping off a 16-0 run that was capped by a Crawford 3-pointer to push the score in favor of the X-Men, 31-18. The Panthers fought back before half to close the margin to seven points at the break.
In the second half, Pittsburgh clawed within one point, 50-49, on a 12-0 run with 9:02 left to play. The Musketeers were able to weather the comeback and rebuild an eight point buffer on two free throws by Terrell Holloway with 6:21 left to play. With Xavier leading by seven, 63-56, with 2:04 left to play, it appeared to be the Muskies game.
Fast forward to the final thirty seconds. The Panthers' Gilbert Brown drained two three points in the in the last 30 seconds to pull Pitt within three points of Xavier. After Xavier struggled to inbound the ball, Dante Jackson was fouled and at the line for two shots. The junior guard missed both free throw attempts and it appeared Pitt would have one last chance.
With four seconds left, Ashton Gibbs launched a 3-point attempt with four seconds that was errant. The ball deflected off of XU's Jason Love's hands out of bounds as time expired. After video review, it was determined that 0.4 seconds remained on the clock, affording one last chance. Pitt's Brad Wanamaker misfired on one last trey attempt, sealing Xavier's victory.
Along with Crawford, the Musketeers were led by Love and Holloway who joined the sophomore guard in double-figures scoring. Love finished with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Holloway added 13 points on 4-of-7 from the field, 5-of-5 from the line, while adding three assists. Dante Jackson chipped in nine points including three 3-pointers in the first half that sparked the team.
The Muskies overcame being outrebounded as a team, 40 to 31. Love snagged eight rebounds while Crawford and Jamel McLean reeled in six each.
Pitt was led by Gibbs (19 points) and Wanamaker (16 points, 10 rebounds). Brown finished with 14 points including 3-of-4 from long range before fouling out in the final minute.
Xavier will look to continue its post-season success and advance to the Elite 8 on Thursday evening when it faces Kansas State. The game is set to tip off at approximately 9:37 p.m. EST in Salt Lake City, Utah.
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