Published since 1915 by the students of Xavier University

 Sections
 Links

 Sports

Flyers grounded

Doug Tifft
Sports Editor

January 21, 1981 was a fairly unassuming day here in Cincinnati.

The campus of Xavier University was mourning a tough loss by a scrappy bunch of Musketeers to their rivals from up the road, the Dayton Flyers led by high scoring guard Roosevelt Chapman.

That is the last time that a squad of Dayton Flyers marched in to Cincinnati and left with a victory.

In the 24th meeting at Xavier since that game the Musketeers showed that there is no sign of that trend changing any time soon, as they dispatched Dayton 69-43.

The Musketeers came into the game knowing that they had to do an excellent job of defending Dayton’s All-American guard Brian Roberts, especially in the absence of the Flyers starting frontcourt tandem of Chris Wright and Charles Little.

The Musketeers came out an executed the game plan to perfection, holding Roberts to five points on only five shots as Roberts battled flu-like symptoms according to head coach Brian Gregory.

Stanley Burrell, who took care of the defensive assignment along with backcourt mate Drew Lavender, explained the success after the game saying “I just wanted to speed him up, and just frustrate him.”

Burrell, the game’s MVP, also attributed his defensive success to the Xavier frontcourt’s ability to hedge the high ball screen and not allow for Roberts to get to the basket.

Even after playing away from the basket against the Dayton guards, the Musketeer big men were able to take advantage of Dayton playing without their top two rebounders in Wright and Little and control the glass, holding a 41-24 rebounding advantage for the contest.

“We are an underappreciated rebounding team.” Coach Sean Miller said “We have a number of guys doing it. Tonight Drew [Lavender] got seven defensive rebounds.”

Burrell also led the Muskies on offense contributing 13 points as a result of a noticeably more aggressive offensive mindset than the he displayed in the past few games.

“I had a long talk with Coach [Miller] the other night, and he told me to be aggressive.”Burrell said. “I’m trying to be more of a complete player, and you can’t really be a complete player when you leave the part of taking shots when they are there out of your game.”

Xavier was also aided by the Flyers poor shooting from the perimeter.

Dayton came in to the game shooting just under 40 percent from three point range for the season, yet started the game 0-9 from downtown and finished 2-18.

Xavier fans may look back on this game at the end of the season and remember it as the game that Dante Jackson emerged as a reliable backup guard.

Jackson contributed six points in 17 minutes of action, along with playing effective defense on the experienced backcourt of Dayton, grabbing four steals.

Miller was delighted by Jackson’s play saying, “We want to be a team that plays nine players. And it was great to see Dante emerge tonight.”

The Muskies now hold a distinct advantage as they move forward in Atlantic 10 conference play, as they stand in first place at 4-1 in the conference.

TOP OF PAGE

Muskies navigate rocky road

Xavier men split tough road trip at Temple and George Washington

Doug Tifft
Sports Editor

Many will tell you that the true mark of a championship-caliber team is their ability to take a punch and respond resiliently.

If that is the case then this year’s Xavier Musketeers men’s basketball team could have something special.

The Musketeers bounced back from a demoralizing 78-59 defeat at Temple on Wednesday, with a 74-66 win over George Washington on Saturday night.

The Muskies faced familiar problems in the first leg of the road trip in Philadelphia.

They allowed the Owls to drain 13 three point shots, a season high for a Xavier opponent, on 48 percent three point shooting.

Point guard Drew Lavender, who finished the game without an assist for the only time all season, recognized the team’s problems on defense saying, “We’ll have to sit around and talk about the mistakes we made. It seems like every time we lose, the other team shoots lights-out on us.”

The Musketeers seemed to be reverting back to the problems that had plagued them in previous road losses to Miami (OH) and Arizona St. earlier in the season by struggling to distribute evenly on offense, and providing the opposition with open looks from beyond the arc.

Xavier was only down two points with just under 12 minutes remaining, but allowed Temple to rattle off a 28-11 run to end the game.

Coach Sean Miller showed his displeasure with his team’s play late in the game saying, “We had the wrong mindset in the Temple game.”

The team had two long days of practice to reflect on their road woes and regain the proper frame of mind before taking on George Washington, who came in with all five of their victories on the season coming at home.

As is often the case with a team in search of a critical win, it was the seniors who stepped up for Xavier, in leading Xavier to their second road victory of the season.

Lavender and Josh Duncan both contributed 14 points each, and Stanley Burrell applied his customary lock-down defense to the Colonial backcourt to help the Musketeers hold on as George Washington tried multiple times to mount late runs.

A key component to the turnaround was better shooting on the offensive end, where the Musketeers shot 45 percent from the field.

Xavier also won the rebounding battle 37-33, something that they failed to do against Temple.

The road victory brings the Muskies to 2-3 on the road this season.

Miller seemed happy to be heading back to Cintas Center with a split of the road trip in hand saying, “I’m excited about being 1-1 on the road and 3-1 in the conference.”
The win now sets up a much anticipated matchup on Thursday night at Cintas Center against number 16 Dayton.

The Flyers come in at 14-2, and are led by All-American candidate Brian Roberts, who is averaging over 20 points per game this season.

Xavier has had success against highly touted backcourt players already this season, with strong performances against Eric Gordon of Indiana, Chris Lofton of Tennessee and Sean Singletary of Virginia.

The tough defensive assignments have gone to senior guard Burrell in the past.

However, Miller has hinted that Lavender might get matched up against Roberts at times, along with other lengthier players like Derrick Brown.

Xavier will not have to contend with high flying freshman Chris Wright however, who underwent surgery to repair a fractured bone in his right ankle and will be out for four to eight weeks.

Although Xavier trails the all-time series against the Flyers 84-60, the Muskies have not dropped a home contest against Dayton since 1981.

This game looms large as the teams look ahead at the conference standings and postseason ramifications.

Miller echoed that sentiment saying, “The goal is to win a conference championship. Nothing, other outside of the NCAA tournament gives a team more satisfaction.”

Both Xavier and Dayton come into the game ranked, with Dayton at number 16 and Xavier at number 20.

This marks the first time since 1957 that both teams have been ranked when they met.

TOP OF PAGE

Super Bowl assumes look of mere consumation

Paul Moeller
Associate Sports Editor

The year was 2005 when the New England Patriots last played on football’s greatest stage.

For the San Diego Chargers, it was a decade earlier, at the conclusion of the 1994 season.

The Patriots were in tireless pursuit of the perfect season while the unexpected Chargers sought to extend their eight game winning streak.

But regardless of previous streaks, questionably popular veteran head coaches, or recent MVP performers, only one of these two teams could advance to the NFL’s crown jewel on Sunday night.

As it were, Tom Brady picked up his 100th career victory as his New England squad ended the Chargers’ postseason parade.

Brady threw for 209 yards and two touchdowns, but also surrendered three interceptions. San Diego’s quarterback Phillip Rivers threw for two more yards than Brady and managed to yield one fewer interception.

The difference, however, was that Rivers came up empty in the touchdown department. With last year’s MVP LaDainian Tomlinson watching from the sideline, the Patriots’ Lawrence Maroney dominated the ground game and allowed New England to effectively control the clock.

Kicker Nate Kaeding was the only San Diego player to put points on the board, connecting on field goals from 26, 23, 40 and 24 yards respectively.
In the 23-degree atmosphere of frosty New England, the Patriots had a clear home field advantage.

But on Feb. 3, the game will be in Arizona. They’ll be playing in the Super Bowl, which is becoming an increasingly familiar atmosphere for them as well.

But who will they play?

Who will have the distinct honor of being the last team to have a crack at the nearly-perfect New England Patriots?

Who will immediately assume the role of underdog, if they hadn’t done so already?

All of these questions were answered by a 29-year-old placekicker named Lawrence Tynes.

The answer came two minutes and 35 seconds into overtime of the NFC Championship Game later that night in Green Bay, Wis.

The answer, of course, was not solely provided by Tynes as the New York Giants stunned the Lambeau faithful with a 23-20 victory over Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers.

The Giants were led by the performance of Eli Manning, younger brother to last year’s Super Bowl MVP, Peyton Manning.

Eli completed 21 of 40 passes for 254 yards, completing big play after big play when New York needed them most.

Both of the Giants’ touchdowns came on short running plays in the third quarter. One was from just a yard out by Brandon Jacobs while the other was punched in from four yards by Ahmad Bradshaw.

Packer quarterback Brett Favre took to the air, however, and threw Green Bay’s two touchdowns, including a 90-yarder to Donald Driver.

Favre threw for 236 yards on the evening, but he also handed out two interceptions, none more costly than to Giant cornerback Corey Webster in the opening drive of overtime.

Undoubtedly, the Giants were appreciative of Webster’s overtime pick, but they would have preferred to end it sooner.

Eli Manning set up Tynes for two field goals late in the fourth quarter that both missed wide left.

The first miss was a 43-yard attempt with 6:49 remaining and the potential back-breaker was a 36-yarder at the end of regulation.

Fortunately for Manning and the Giants, the third kick was the charm for Tynes, who couldn’t have picked a better time to connect on his first game-winning field goal of the season.

The New York Giants will now take to the road once again this postseason.

This time, they’re up against the best team in football. The mission: snap the Patriots 18-game win streak and become the first NFC Super Bowl Champion in five years.

New England is clearly the favorite, but so was Michigan against Appalachian State.

TOP OF PAGE

Phillips and Harris lead women past St. Joe's

Emily Neubauer
Sports Writer

The Xavier University Musketeers women’s basketball team celebrated another victory on Saturday in front of a crowd of nearly 1100 at the Cintas Center.  Sophomore guard Amber Harris led Xavier with 19 points and 8 rebounds while Freshman Ta’Shia Phillips worked her way to her 10th double double with 18 points and 13 rebounds. 

Xavier and St. Joe’s Hawks battled for the lead in the early minutes of the first half.  XU led by a mere one point with 11:30 left.  However, the Musketeers shined defensively throughout the remaining minutes of the first half and impressively held the Hawks scoreless for the next 8 minutes.  Xavier went on a 14-0 run to gain a substantial lead, 24-9. 

Saint Joe's refused to give up, despite a deficit of 13 points; cutting the lead to a reachable 10 points with 3 minutes left in the first half.  Xavier led 24-14 after Amy Gillespie of the Hawks made back-to-back baskets.  However, Xavier followed with a 10-0 run to end the half and go into the break with a 34-14 advantage over the St. Joe’s.

Xavier led by as many as 22 early on in the second half but the Hawks chipped away at the deficit.  The battle continued for the remainder of the second half before the Musketeers were finally able to pull it out in the end, winning 71-53 over St. Joe’s.

For her excellent play in Saturday’s game as well as against Richmond earlier in the week, Ta’Shia Phillips was awarded Atlantic 10 rookie of the week, an honor she has received eight times this season. 

Saturday’s game left the Hawks with a 10-8 record on the year while Xavier moved to 12-6.  Both teams are 2-1 in the Atlantic 10.  Fans can catch more women’s basketball action on Tuesday night as the Muskies take on the Duquesne.  

TOP OF PAGE

 Sports Briefs

Doug Tifft  
Sports Editor

XU among nation’s most valuable

The Xavier men’s basketball program was recently rated as one of Forbes’s top 20 most valuable college basketball programs in the country. Forbes estimated that the program is worth $10.7 million to the school, bringing in $6.3 million profit to Xavier every year. Xavier was the highest rated team that does not belong to a conference that has an affiliation with BCS football.

Forbes attributed the high value of the Xavier program to a “lucrative seating licensing program.” The University of North Carolina was rated as the most valuable program. The University of Cincinnati and the University of Dayton were conspicuously absent.

Tennis season gets underway

The Xavier men’s tennis team started off the season with a loss to Toledo and win over Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. The team dropped the season opener to Toledo at the Mercy Healthplex Fairfield 5-2. Xavier’s Ra’ees Ismail went 2-0 in the loss, as he won his singles match and teamed with J. T. Torbek for a doubles win. Brian Schubert also won his singles match for the Musketeers.

In the Sunday match up with IPFW at the Five Seasons in Cincinnati, the Muskies rolled to a 6-1 victory. Ismail and Schubert again won their singles matches, but this time they were joined by Chris Herrlinger, Torbeck and Mike Diecuic in the winner’s column. Ismail and Torbeck again took home a win in doubles play.
Brian Starr and Herrlinger also teamed up for a doubles win.

Ismail was later named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week for his perfect record.