Lavender injury casts doubts for XU
Postseason hopes may hinge on point guard’s ankle
Doug Tifft
Sports Editor
One of the keys to a successful season this year for the Xavier men’s basketball team was to avoid injuries.
They managed to navigate through the majority of the season with a relatively clean bill of health.
That is at least until they met Charlotte on Feb. 13, when senior point guard Drew Lavender rolled his left ankle.
Since then, it’s been a guessing game whether or not Lavender would be able to play effectively on his injured ankle, a trend that continued Saturday night as Lavender watched his Senior Night game from the bench.
In his absence Stanley Burrell has assumed the point guard role, doing a reasonable job contributing 11 points and four assists in the 86-61 defeat of Richmond.
Without Lavender in the lineup, other players have been forced to cover roles for which they may not be suited, such as Burrell playing point and forcing B.J. Raymond to move into the shooting guard role.
Raymond was able to remain in his small forward position against Richmond due to the emergence of freshman Dante Jackson, who contributed lock-down defense to go with five points and five rebounds in his first career start.
In his normal position, Raymond found his stroke going 5-9 from three point range on his way to a career-high 22 points.
Despite the success in his absence, Xavier will need Lavender back in his normal role if they hope to make a significant NCAA Tournament run.
The first step will come in earning a high seed in the NCAA Tournament by playing well in the Atlantic 10 Championship.
Xavier will play the winner of the game between Dayton and Saint Louis at noon on Thursday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.
According to Burrell, Xavier will be playing with added motivation in the tournament after they were slighted in the publishing of the Atlantic 10 All-Conference team on Monday.
Burrell was named the Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year, Sean Miller was named the Coach of the Year and Josh Duncan earned the Sixth Man of the Year Award.
Duncan and Lavender were also named to the second team All-Conference, with Burrell making the third team.
Burrell was displeased with these results, believing that some of his other teammates should have recieved honors as well.
“I’ve got champions in that locker room. B.J. [Raymond], C.J. [Anderson], Derrick [Brown]. Those guys shouldn’t have been left out like that. No way. Those guys are champs. Where would we be without them? I’m so upset,” Burrell said.
Burrell’s words represent the selfless leadership role that he has undertaken this season.
Xavier may have to rely heavily on Burrell’s leadership as Lavender’s status for the coming games remains ambiguous, especially with a short recovery time between games in the tournaments.
Women take A-10 title
Emily Neubauer
Sports Writer
It is a given that the No. 10 ranked Xavier University men’s basketball team is going to make it to the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
But now we know that the Xavier women will be joining them.
The women’s basketball team was victorious over Temple in Philadelphia Monday night to secure a spot in March Madness later this month.
This is the second time in two years the number three seeded Xavier has guaranteed themselves a spot in the tournament by winning the A-10 Tournament.
Junior Jerri Taylor led all scorers with 14 points and led Xavier to a 47-42 win and the A-10 championship.
Taylor’s 14 points came on 4-6 shooting and a perfect 2-2 from beyond the arc.
Freshman center Ta’Shia Phillips was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, with 10 points and 13 rebounds, securing her 18th double-double of the season. She was 4-7 from the floor with six offensive and seven defensive rebounds.
Sophomore forward Amber Harris was named to the All-Championship Team and scored 12 points, with six rebounds and five blocked shots.
At the half, Temple held a three point lead, 24-21.
However, the Musketeers practiced exceptional defense, holding the Owls to only eight points and three field goals for the remainder of the game.
The Musketeers have now won four Atlantic 10 Championships since the 2000 season, and the team improves to a league best 22-9 all-time in A-10 Championship play.
XU is 8-1 overall as the defending A-10 Champion. On the season, Xavier improves to 24-8. They will find out their opponent for the first game of the tournament on March 24.
Doug Tifft
Sports Editor
Lav to be on Sports Illustrated cover
Photographers from Sports Illustrated were at Cintas Center Monday afternoon for a photo shoot with Xavier senior point guard Drew Lavender.
Lavender will be on the cover of the March 24 NCAA Tournament Preview Issue of Sports Illustrated, which will hit newsstands March 19.
There will be six different covers throughout the United States.
Lavender will grace the cover for the Midwest and upper-Midwest regions.
Lavender was also named to the second team of the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 10 team.
The selection for the team makes Lavender eligible to be named to the State Farm All-America Team.
Women head into A-10 Championship
The Xavier women’s basketball team went 1-1 on the week with a loss to Dayton and a victory over Saint Bonaventure.
The week started with a 68-58 loss to Dayton on Wednesday night.
Sophomore Amber Harris had 17 points and 12 rebounds, while freshman Ta’Shia Phillips had 16 points and nine rebounds in the loss.
Xavier then traveled to Olean, N.Y. on Saturday, where they picked up a 60-57 victory.
Harris led the way again with 21 points and 11 rebounds.
The Musketeers now head into the Atlantic 10 Championship at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse on the campus of Saint Joseph’s University, March 7-10.
Xavier has earned a number three seed in the tournament and will play the winner of the game between Saint Joseph’s and Saint Louis.
