Xavier's home A-10 win streak snapped by St. Louis
The Enquirer/Jeff Swinger
Mark Lyons didn't start for the Muskies, but his back-to-back 3-pointers sparked a second-half rally.
Written by
Shannon Russell
The Atlantic 10’s longest home-court winning streak is over.
Saint Louis survived an extended second-half rally to beat Xavier 73-68 and snap its 43-game winning streak over A-10 foes at Cintas Center.
Propelled by hot first-half perimeter shooting and a stingy man-to-man defense that forced 17 turnovers, the Billikens dealt the Musketeers (13-7, 4-3 A-10) their first loss at home since Saint Joseph did it in on Feb. 28, 2006. They also gained a coveted road victory over a Musketeers team ranked in the RPI’s Top 50.
Mark Lyons sparked Xavier’s second-half comeback, but his career-high 27 points didn’t distract a Saint Louis team (16-4, 4-2) determined to close out the win.
Lyons converted a 3-point play with 3:56 left that trimmed SLU’s lead to five points. Dez Wells’ steal led to a fast break and two Tu Holloway free throws made it 65-62.
Dwayne Evans responded with a lay-up. Although XU stayed within striking distance, twice coming within three points in the last 37 second, it never closed the gap.
The loss was a devastating blow for Xavier, which again jeopardized its place in the conference standings by losing a second straight contest.
After the Saturday’s demoralizing loss at Dayton, coach Chris Mack put the team through two grueling practices and shook up the lineup against the Billikens.
Veterans Lyons and Kenny Frease watched as Dee Davis and Jeff Robinson took their starting roles.
Although Lyons and Frease made it into the game minutes within the first eight minutes, the Musketeers fell behind by as many as 13 points on a Cody Ellis three 59 seconds before halftime.
The Musketeers surrendered 41 first-half points, including seven treys, and had no answer for the perimeter shooting 6-foot-11 Rob Loe unloaded.
XU’s defense didn’t allow a second-half three. In fact, the Muskies seemed to find their pulse after the break.
Lyons and Frease started in the second half, joining Holloway, Wells and Robinson, and Lyons buried two 3-pointers within an 8-0 run that set the stage for the team’s comeback bid.
After Lyons’ second trey, the Cintas Center crowd came to life – and so did Xavier’s players. They battled for loose balls, grabbed rebounds and paralyzed a Billikens offense that scored 21 points off 3-pointers in the first half.
Although Holloway’s free throws with 10:20 left knotted the game at 50, SLU scored six straight points and withstood Lyons’ next three with 6:42 left.
Senior Brian Conklin converted seven of nine free throws in the second half and finished with a team-high 19 points.
The loss ended XU’s seven-game stronghold over SLU in the series and marked the first time the Billikens seniors defeated the Muskies.
Holloway added 22 points behind 14-for-14 free-throw shooting and Robinson added 10 points.
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