Muskies Comeback To Beat Bonnies

OLEAN, N.Y. -Junior Tu Holloway led all scorers with 22 points, while sophomore Jeff Robinson came off the bench to add 12 points for the Xavier men's basketball team, who defeated St. Bonaventure, 79-65, Wednesday night at the Reilly Center.

In all, five players scored in double figures for the Musketeers, who improved to 12-5 overall and 4-0 in the Atlantic 10. Sophomore Mark Lyons added 15 points and seven rebounds, and junior Kenny Frease and seniorJamel McLean each had 10 points.

St. Bonaventure dropped to 9-8 overall, and 1-3 in the league. They were led by Ogo Adegboye who scored 16 points and had three assists.
Xavier trailed at the half 35-30, after falling behind 14-3 to start the game. Robinson checked into the game and immediately contributed, scoring six-straight points. His layup at the 10:52 mark in the first half sparked the Musketeers to a 17-7 run that tied the game at 26-all with 3:49 remaining in the half. The Bonnies closed the half with a 9-4 run to lead at the break.
Lyons, who scored 11 of his 13 points, along with Robinson, played a vital part in the Musketeers' first-half run, combining to score 17 points. Despite the slow start, which included five turnovers in the opening minutes, Xavier managed to shoot 11-of-23 from the floor and outscore St. Bonaventure, 16-4 in the paint.
The Musketeers got off to a rocky start in the first half, and trailed by as many as 12 points to the Bonnies. A strong end to the half and Holloway's 22-point effort helped the Musketeers erase the deficit, which was the largest that Xavier had rallied from to win all season. The previous deficit was 11 in the season opener against Western Michigan.
The Musketeers took the lead on a quick turn of events four minutes into the second half. Holloway hit his first 3-pointer of the night and proceeded to steal a cross-court pass on the other end. He pushed the ball patiently waiting for Robinson, who took the bounce pass and slammed it home, giving the Musketeers their first lead of the night at 40-39 with 15:47 remaining in the second half.

At that point Xavier began to slowly pull away, thanks to Holloway who went on to have his 10th 20-plus point game of the season. He hit 5-of-6 shots in the second half, including four 3-pointers.
The Musketeers ended up shooting a season-high 26-of-45 from the floor, and 7-of-12 from behind the perimeter.
The victory was the Musketeers 10th straight win over the Bonnies and fourth straight at the Reilly Center. Xavier outscored St. Bonaventure 36-14 in the paint and had 21 points off turnovers. The Musketeers also won the battle of the glass 31-17, and had nine offensive rebounds that led to 15 points.
The Musketeers held St. Bonaventure's Andrew Nicholson, the league's leading scorer, to just 13 points. He fouled out with just over seven minutes remaining. St. Bonaventure finished 20-of-44 from the floor.
Xavier returns to Cintas Center Saturday to face Temple. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. with the game being broadcast on ESPN2. Xavier great Brian Grant will have his number 33 jersey retired during a halftime ceremony during the game.