Xavier looks sloppy in win over GW
Mens' success continues with 66-56 victory at home
Doug Tifft
Sports Editor
goxavier.com
Freshman Dante Jackson.
The experts will tell you that a successful college basketball team should be on a roll as March begins.
On the surface Xavier fits that molds, winning their last 11 games and clinching the Atlantic 10 Conference title.
Further inspection, however, will reveal a much different story after the Musketeers latest game, a 66-56 win over George Washington.
A fiery Sean Miller blasted his team after the game saying “as a team it was probably our worst performance in about a year and a half. We were very fortunate to win.”
Some may say that the poor performance was due to the Musketeers lack of their star point guard Drew Lavender.
However, Miller said before the game, “Watching him run he almost looks 100 percent.”
Also, Lavender did not show any signs of a significant limp in his 16 minutes of action.
So this begs the question: If you have a great point guard then why not play him, especially when the team is underperforming the way that Xavier was on Saturday night?
“I think he was really struggling as a player. Being able to guard the ball, push the ball, being effective. I wanted to make sure that I was putting our team in the best position the win and playing those other guys was the best answer.” Miller said.
Miller has had a year long quest to get Lavender to play with more intensity on the defensive end, and while the rest of the team picked up the defense while Lavender was nursing his ankle injury, Miller seemed to hope that Lavender would be able to blend in with the newly increased defensive effort.
Miller said before the George Washington game, “We might be a better defensive team without Drew. He is going to really have to come back and play some defense to be able to have that role that he had (before the injury), and be the player that he is capable of being.”
Whether it was because of the injury, or the intensity level, Lavender’s play did not sit well with Miller.
Lavender was not the only one who Miller was displeased with, however.
Miller also criticized C.J. Anderson for his play saying “C.J. has got to play a lot better for our team… You got to throw it to the color jersey that you are wearing. You got to be a guy that takes care of the basketball when you enter March. Five turnovers are too much.”
This fiery side of Sean Miller is rare, but it signifies that Miler seems to sense that his team is slipping away from the possible Final Four contenders that they once were.
While on the surface the Musketeers may still be a highly ranked team nationally, they will have some steep challenges to recover from their performance on Saturday night.
Miller gave the impression that he would look to his seniors to lead that path back to where the team once stood.
“Stanley (Burrell) and Josh (Duncan) are doing a great job of leading our team right now. Both in practice and how they are performing in games,” Miller said.
Burrell stepped up with 11 points, four assists and only one turnover in the point guard role against the Colonials zone pressure defense.
Duncan had 13 points and five rebounds for Xavier. He was also much more demonstrative, calling for the ball down low late in the game.
The Musketeers will need to recover quickly as they now head to Saint Joseph’s on Thursday night to face what will surely be a fired up bunch of Hawks in the last game before Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse is torn down after the season.
Xavier will need a consistent performance on both ends from more than just their seniors if they are to right the ship, and return to being the premier team that they were before Saturday.
Defense key to Musketeer success
Xavier rides strong defense to 10 game winning streak and top of A-10
Doug Tifft
Sports Editor
Erika Breese
Senior point gaurd Drew Lavender has been hindered by an ankle injury the last few games, forcing other players to step up.
The Xavier men’s basketball team is currently ranked ninth in the country by the Associated Press, the first time that Xavier has been in the top 10 after January in school history.
The key to this success is the team’s commitment to defense.
Xavier leads the Atlantic 10 conference in field goal percentage defense, with opponents shooting 40.1 percent, and is second in scoring defense at 62.7 points allowed per game.
That effort is headed by senior guard Stanley Burrell, who is garnering some attention as a possible candidate for the Henry Iba Award as the National Defensive Player of the Year (ESPN analyst Jay Bilas included Burrell as one of his nominees for the award).
Burrell has been using his defense to guide his team this season, as opposed to the high offensive output that he had contributed in years past.
But in Thursday’s matchup with Duquesne Burrell was asked to contribute more on the offensive side of the ball in the absence of point guard Drew Lavender, who was only able to play 14 minutes due to an ankle injury.
Burrell not only answered the call, but turned in possibly the best game of his career, recording a career high 12 assists.
He did not relax on the other end of the floor either, holding Duquesne’s second leading scorer Kojo Mensah to two points on 0-9 shooting. “Getting 12 assists is something out of the ordinary, but playing defense is something that we do every night. That is our identity,” Burrell said.
The point guard spot took on a bigger role against the Duquesne defense, which employs a full court trapping style that is difficult for guards to handle and often causes a large number of turnovers.
Burrell walked off the court with the 12 assists and only two turnovers as he showed that Xavier can handle a pressure defense, even without All-Conference point guard Lavender.
In Sunday’s matchup at Dayton Burrell was able to return to his familiar role as the off-guard on offense as Lavender played 33 minutes, although without his usual quickness and speed.
Lavender scored nine points and handing out only one assist on Sunday.
Burrell shined once again as he and fellow senior Josh Duncan shared the Blackburn/McCafferty Trophy as the game’s co-MVPs.
Burrell tallied eight points and five assists in the contest, along with holding Atlantic-10 player of the year candidate Brian Roberts to a 4-14 night from the field.
Duncan came off the bench to continue his increased offensive production in conference play with 14 points and four rebounds.
The game served to show some of the vast improvements that the Xavier frontcourt has made this season on the offensive end.
Duncan entered the season with a reputation for being a big man with a tendency to drift to the perimeter. However he had four points in the paint early and got to the free throw line eight times, showing his determination to play in the post.
Forward Derrick Brown was known for his highlight reel dunks, but was considered to lack an outside touch. Brown scored seven points in the contest, all of which came off jump shots.
Center Jason Love was once thought to be an offensive liability, especially at the free throw line. Love had eight points on the night, and buried both of his free throws to put him at a respectable 65 percent from the line this season.
Thanks in part to the contributions of the frontcourt Xavier was able to secure at least a share of the Atlantic 10 regular season title with a school record 24th regular season victory.
It was the 10th win in a row for the Musketeers, and 16th win in the last 17 games.
The recent run of success has caused some people to start comparing this Xavier team to some of the great squads of the past.
“Our players have not been afraid to try and be regarded as one of the best Xavier teams,” head coach Sean Miller said.
With the way that this year’s Muskies have committed to defense there is no reason that they cannot distinguish themselves as the standard for future Xavier teams.
Women keep rolling
XU picks up two more wins; remains in first
Emily Neubauer
Sports Writer
goxavier.com
Ta’Shia Phillips was named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week for the 11th time this season after victories over Fordham and La Salle.
Chalk up two more victories for Xavier women’s basketball this week, both important road wins on the path to the impending tournament in March.
For the eighth time in the last 10 years, the Lady Musketeers have won 20 regular season games, including the last two years.
Wednesday night, XU traveled to the Bronx to take on the 0-25 Fordham Rams. Fordham trailed 11-8 with 16-minutes remaining in the first half, but XU dominated the remainder of the game.
The Musketeers rattled off 12-consecutive points over the next 2:10 to seize a commanding 23-8 lead with 13:50 to go.
It would only get worse for the Rams as the Musketeers held Fordham without a field goal for a 7:30 stretch and extended the 12-0 spurt to a 33-7 run over the next 9:10 seizing a 44-18 lead at the 3:20 mark.
The dominant first half didn’t continue into the second, although the game was never within reach for Fordham.
Xavier out-scored the Rams by a 40-12 count in the paint and out-rebounded the Rams 47-24.
Freshman Ta’Shia Phillips led the Musketeers with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
The Muskies saw action again on Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia.
Sophomore April Phillips led four Musketeers in double-figures with 15 points, and Ta’Shia Phillips registered another double-double to lead Xavier to a 57-53 win against La Salle.
Ta’Shia Phillips scored 14 points and corralled 13 rebounds to notch her 16th double-double of the year; the most of any freshman in the nation.
Her 14 points came on 7-12 shooting to mark the 19th time this season the Atlantic 10’s leading field goal percentage performer has shot at least 50 percent in a game.
La Salle went into the second half trailing by six points, a deficit that was quickly erased. They went on a 13-6 run over the first six minutes of play in the second frame and led 37-36.
The game was a battle from that point until the end, the Musketeers narrowly escaping the Explorers, winning by a score of 57-53.
Ta’Shia Phillips scored 14 points, followed by junior Tudy Reed with 13 points and Amber Harris with 11.
The Xavier women take the court again Wednesday night when they battle the Dayton Flyers in an attempt to avenge a previous loss.
Game time is set for 7 p.m. and will mark the Xavier women’s home finale.
The first 1,000 fans will receive a free Blue Blob Bobblebody courtesy of Wing Eyecare. Additionally, fans who bring a non-perishable food item will be able to get into the game for free.
Where are they now: Romain Sato
Tyler Grote
Sports Writer
viewimages.com
Romain Sato has moved on to star in Italy, winning a championship last year, after finishing up his career at Xavier in 2004.
Xavier has seen its fair share of elite athletes come and go.
Each senior leaves behind his own legacy when he finally receives his diploma and hangs up the Musketeer jersey for the final time.
But where some names fade with time, others remain and are known even by incoming freshmen who have never even had the opportunity to see these guys go to work in the Cintas Center.
Romain Sato is one of these special players.
This 6’3 guard from the Central African Republic was one of the hardest players to say goodbye to on Senior Night in 2004.
The number three scorer in Xavier basketball history had 2,005 career points, and was the number eight rebounder with 892 rebounds.
After helping Xavier reach its first Elite Eight, Romain Sato went on to be drafted in the second round of the NBA draft by the San Antonio Spurs.
Unfortunately, things didn’t quite work out in Sato’s favor in San Antonio, and Sato left for the Italian Second Division Sicc Cucine Jesi.
Sato’s transition was met with success, as he was the league’s second leading scorer in 2005-06, averaging 25.5 points per game along with 7.5 rebounds per game.
In Jesi’s three playoff games that season, Sato averaged 35 points and 14.6 rebounds.
Sato’s success didn’t stop there.
After leaving Sicc Cucine Jesi for a short stint in Barcelona, Spain, Sato returned to Italy where he joined Montepaschi Siena.
For Montepaschi Siena, Sato helped bring home the Italian title.
He led the Italian champions with 14 points, 11 rebounds, four steals and two assists.
Although Romain had to play in the shadow of David West for three quarters of his career at Xavier, it would be difficult to find anyone in the Xavier community who doesn’t know who he is.
Hopefully Sato continues his streak of success, and according to azcentral.com, an Arizona media website, the Phoenix Suns have their eye on this former Musketeer.
So just keep waiting, and you might just see one more Xavier alum in the NBA.
Stay off the court, please
Doug Tifft
Sports Editor
I have noticed a disturbing trend developing in college basketball this season.
This past weekend I was watching a game between Miami (OH.) and Valparaiso.
Mind you that both teams were struggling to stay above .500 in rather sub-par conferences, yet when Valparaiso won the game in overtime their fans came flowing onto the court to celebrate the victory.
Court storming has become all too commonplace in college basketball.
That is why I have compiled a list for these fans to reference before deciding if their cause is worthy of court storming.
1. You must be a significant underdog. This means that teams in the top 10 in the country should never have to deal with dodging excited fans as they exit the court after a win (don’t even think about it Xavier fans). If your team is expected to win then accept the win humbly. Acting like you expected to win makes a louder statement than running onto the court.
2. The win must hold some significance for your program. A win over an unranked team in the second game of the season is not significant for your program, and is only mildly significant to your season (ahem, Miami). Therefore this situation should be reserved for wins like conference championships that are won on your home court, culminating an undefeated season or beating an archrival.
3. The team that you beat must be ranked. Beating a team that is on the NCAA bubble, or that used to be ranked earlier in the season is fairly insignificant. In order to storm the court the team you beat must be collecting national accolades as a prestigious basketball team.
4. The game must be played at home or on a neutral court near your school. It is great that you traveled to the opponent’s gym to watch the game, but being the lone soldier running onto the court after the game just makes you look stupid.
5. The game has to have been close. At the end of a back and forth game fans might get so excited that they will want to release their energy with a jog around the open expanse of hardwood in front of them. On the other hand, if there are 5 minutes left and your team is up by 25 then you should probably scrap the court storming. Just pull together an “overrated” chant and call it a day.
Inevitably, the number of court stormings skyrockets as the year winds down, but hopefully this year that will be put to rest.
I hope this helps all of the confused fans out there to realize when the appropriate time to vacate the student section is.
It may sound cool to jump up and down at center court, but for the viewers at home watching on ESPNU and wondering why you are so excited about beating Central Michigan, you just end up looking stupid.
Doug Tifft
Sports Editor
Swim teams strong at A-10s
The Xavier men’s and women’s swim teams turned in strong performances at the Atlantic 10 championships this weekend in Buffalo, N.Y., finishing third and second respectively.
the second place showing was the highest that the women have ever placed.
The team was led by freshman Kari Peglar, who took home the Women’s Most Outstanding Rookie Award after winning the 1650 yard freestyle.
She teaming up with sophomore Elaina Suba, freshman Bethanie Griffin and sophomore Allison Johnson to finish third in the 400 yard freestyle relay.
Suba and Griffin also placed fifth and sixth in the 100 yard freestyle event.
Junior Patrick McGrath led the men’s squad with a school record time of 15:45.49 in the 1650 yard freestyle event.
Also for the men’s side senior Matt Krouse, freshman Terence Mahon, junior Jake Burke and freshman Nathan Green teamed up to earn Xavier a third place finish in the 400 yard freestyle event.
Baseball team off to rocky start
The Xavier baseball team started off the season with a 1-2 record in a weekend road trip to Mobile, Ala. The weekend started with a 10-1 loss at the hands of Kentucky. The lone run came on a single by sophomore Zac Richard to score Adam Pasono in the sixth inning.
Later that day they played the second half of the double header against Fairfield University, recording a 12-7 win. Junior Steve Brown, senior Robbie Kelley, Richard and sophomore Bobby Freking each recorded two RBIs to lead the Musketeers. Senior Mike Creevey picked up the win for Xavier after 4.1 innings of work out of the bullpen.
The following day the Muskies returned to action to face the host of the weekend’s games, South Alabama. The Jags rode a four run fourth inning to a 6-5 win. Richard was 2-5 with a home run and three RBIs in the loss.
