Earl Austin Jr: Billikids Rally Falls Short: Xavier wins 73-71 Billikids Rally Falls Short: Xavier wins 73-71 ================================================================================ Earl Austin on 12/03/2010 16:41:00 A crowd of more than 10,000 jammed the Chaifetz and created quite an atmosphere for the A-10 showdown that went down to the final shot. With about eight minutes left, it looked like Xavier was going to run the Billikens off the floor as they dominated the first 10 minutes of the second half. We played an excellent first half in building a six-point lead while limiting the explosive Musketeers to only 28 points. The ball movement was tremendous and the 3-point shooting was something to see. We had 13 baskets and 12 assists. We hit seven of our 12 3-point attempts in the first half as we led 34-28. The tide had turned in the second half as the bigger, stronger Musketeers scored 29 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half. They willed their strength and power on us and took control of the game. They also hit four or five simply ridiculous shots when they were stumbling and falling to the ground. They just flipped the shot up and it went off the glass and in the basket. When Xavier’s shooting stud Jordan Crawford nailed a long 3-pointer from the corner to complete a dizzying 16-0 run and give the Musketeers a 62-49 lead with seven minutes and 33 seconds left in the second half, I looked at my radio broadcast partner Bob Ramsey and said, “Rammer, we’ve got ‘em where we want ‘em.” It looked bleak for the Billikids at that point because X was really taking over the game. But, I knew we were coming back. And we did. We almost came all the way back. The Billikens battled all the way back to the point where they had one last possession to take a lead in the final seconds. Trailing 71-69, the Billikens got a defensive stop with 31 seconds left. They worked the ball to Kwamain Mitchell, who made a great escape move to give himself an open 3-pointer with 10 seconds left. Kwamain’s shot caught the front of the rim and rolled off. Xavier got the rebound and wound up salting the game away on two free throws by senior Jason Love. It was a great effort and an even better comeback against a perennial A-10 kingpin and national power, but the rally felt short and the loss is a little heartbreaking right now. Oh, so close. Much credit goes to Xavier’s inside-outside combination of Love and Crawford. The 6’9” 255-pound Love had 21 points and nine rebounds. He really took control of the game in the second half as he scored 15 points. X really leaned on us physically and it really took its toll for several minutes. Love made one of the most manly plays I’ve seen in a long time in the second half when he grabbed an offensive rebound with his right hand while holding off our freshman Cory Remekun with the other hand. While still holding off Cory, he managed to get a shot off and it went in the basket for a 3-point play opportunity. Just pure strength. Crawford, the athletic 6’4” shooting guard, is known for the player who dunked on LeBron James in a summer pick-up game, but he is so much more. He scored a game-high 26 points, including four high-arching 3-pointers with Kyle Cassity guarding him closely. The young man is an explosive offensive talent who can score from anywhere on the court. He and Love were the difference. Our big three really showed up tonight as well. Kwamain led the way with 21 points and four assists. Kwamain really had the stroke going from long distance as he hit five of eight 3-pointers. Willie Reed was tremendous tonight with 18 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks. Willie threw his springy, 215-pound frame into the mix all night against Xavier’s three bigs of Love, Jamaal McLean and Kenny Frease, who average about 6’10” and 250 between them. They bounced Willie around pretty good, but Willie played with great intensity and energy. The only thing that kept Willie from having a truly special evening was the free throw line. Willie hit only two of nine from the stripe, including five down the stretch when the Bills were mounting their late rally. Those were tough misses, but without Willie putting in so much work, we would not have been in a position to come close to X down the stretch. It was one of his best efforts of the season. Cody Ellis also came through with 19 big points. Cody struggled from 3-point range, hitting only two of his seven attempts. However, we saw Cody show some resourcefulness as a scorer. He started going to the basket and making moves off the dribble. He also hit seven of seven from the free throw line. On the flip side, Cody could only manage two rebounds and he aveages six. We saw the trade off of Cody’s match-up against big, physical players tonight. On offense, they had trouble keeping up with him and Cody shook loose several times for open shots. On the defensive end, Xavier’s bigs managed to put the arm on him with their strength, which is a good lesson for Cody. That was one of the big stories of the game. Xavier had some of grown a** men out there, led by Love, a veteran who has been a part of an Elite Eight and two Sweet 16 teams. Their physicality inside and quickness on the perimeter in point guards Terrell Holloway and Mark Lyons really made a difference. And of course, Crawford looked like a pro with some of the shots he made. It was a tough loss, but I was pleased with the great turnout by the fans and the great performance by the student section. It is what college basketball is all about. I think we showed that we can play with the best teams in the league. That is important because we still have some big challenges ahead of us. I hope everyone enjoyed themselves tonight because the fun is just beginning around here. It is my hope that the great atmosphere we saw tonight continues on Saturday when Duquesne comes to town. The Dukes won’t have the same fanfare as Xavier, but they are a dangerous team. Duquesne is on a three-game winning streak with wins at Charlotte and at home against Dayton along the way. Two of our last three games have gone into overtime, including our double-overtime thriller in January. It should be another exciting game. Hope to see you all there on Saturday at the Chaifetz. Go Bills!