Xavier Ends Regular Season With Win Over SLU

By:  Cooper Ledford


Earlier this week, the Xavier Musketeers clinched at least a share of the A-10 Title with a win over Charlotte, and had a chance to win it outright today against Saint Louis.  XU had beaten SLU earlier this season, but this time, it was in St. Louis.  But, that did not matter, as the Muskies were able to beat the Billikens, 66-55.


Xavier had a strong 1st half, and lead the Billikens by 10 at halftime, 31-21.  In the 2nd half, Saint Louis got back into it, and at one point they were only trailing by 3.  But, Xavier was able to go on a nice run, and before you knew it, they were back up by 11, and won.


Tu Holloway had a poor performance vs. Charlotte earlier this week, but he had a very impressive game today, as he had 25 points.  Mark Lyons did well too, as he had 16 points, while Kenny Frease added 10.


This was the last regular season game for players like Andrew Taylor, Dante Jackson, and Jamel McLean, but also it could be the final one for Tu Holloway, as he could be playing in the NBA next season.


Brain Conklin had 14 points for Saint Louis, while Mike McCall added 13.


So, Xavier finishes their regular season with an overall record of 24-6 and 15-1 in A-10 play, while SLU finishes 12-18 overall, and 6-10 in the A-10.  A great season for XU, as they improved from last season.


Next, it is the Atlantic 10 Tournament from Atlantic City, New Jersey.  The Musketeers will get a first-round BYE,  and then play at noon ET on Friday against the winner of the  #8 seed vs.#9 seed game.  Those teams are yet to be determined, but we will tell you who they will face as soon as we know.  That game will be on either FS Ohio or CBS College Sports probably.

Xavier Completes Season Sweep Of Dayton

Tu Holloway had 26
points in Xavier's win
over Dayton, Sunday.

DAYTON, Ohio - The No. 25 Xavier Musketeers visited hostile UD arena and picked up a victory against A-10 rival the University of Dayton Flyers, 66-62 Sunday afternoon. Junior guard Tu Holloway led all scorers as XU completed the regular season sweep on UD.
Holloway had 26 points off 8-of-17 shooting, including going an almost perfect 8-of-9 from the charity stripe. Holloway also grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists. Jamel McLean was 5-of-6 from the floor for 11 points. Mark Lyons chipped in 10 points and four assists.
With the win, the Musketeers move to 22-6 on the season and 13-1 in Atlantic 10 action. The Flyers drop to 19-10 and 7-7 in conference action. This was the third-straight conference game that UD has dropped.
Xavier finished the contest shooting 46.0 percent from the floor compared with 41.1 percent from Dayton. The teams were consistent from the free throw line, with XU going 17-of-22 (77.3 percent) and UD going 8-of-11 (72.7 percent). The Musketeers won the battle of the boards 34-31 and points in the paint 32-22. The Flyers bested the Musketeers in points off turnovers (21-14), second chance points (12-8) and fastbreak points (15-5).
The Flyers came out hot in the second half, scoring the first seven points to cut Xavier's lead to 37-32. UD would get within five of XU four more times within the half, unable to surpass the barrier until going on a 7-2 run to tie the game at 59-59 with a little under two minutes left in the contest.
Holloway was fouled with under a minute and a half and gave XU the slight two point lead, 61-59. Holloway then came back on the Musketeers' following possession and hit a critical trey to give Xavier the 64-59 advantage with 41 seconds left. Xavier would hold on for the rest of the game.
Dayton's Chris Johnson led the way for the Flyers early, scoring 14 of his 22 points in the first frame. He got two quick treys early to give UD the slight 6-2 advantage. That is when the Musketeers went on a 14-2 run to lead 16-8 with 14 minutes left in the first half. The Flyers had 13 turnovers which the Musketeers capitalized on by scoring 12 points.

The closest the Flyers would come in the first was five, but the Musketeers surged on to lead by as many as 13 points. The score at halftime saw the Musketeers up on the Flyers, 37-25. XU was 48.3 percent from the field, while UD went 9-of-25 for 36.0 percent. Dayton shot 60 percent from three-point land, connecting on six treys in the first half, while Xavier went 2-for-10.
Johnson led the way for Dayton with 22 points off 6-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-8 from behind the arc. UD's leading scorer Chris Wright, who averages 12.8 points per game, was held scoreless until the 15:18 mark of the second half. Wright would finish with 11 points.
Xavier will play its final home game on Wednesday, March 2 against the Charlotte 49ers. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. from Cintas Center.