Musketeers flatten Dukes in a blowout
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Xavier's Mark Lyons steals the ball from Duquesne's T.J. McConnell in the first half of Wednesday night's Atlantic 10 game in Cincinnati.
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CINCINNATI -- If Xavier was looking to make a statement Wednesday night after a rough stretch of games, Duquesne heard it loud and clear.
With speed, size and athleticism the Musketeers opened a 28-point lead by halftime and dismantled Duquesne, 78-50, before an incredibly loud crowd at the Cintas Center.
Xavier had gone 2-5 since a bloody bench brawl against Cincinnati last month, but certainly found its groove against the Dukes. Asked if it looked like the same Xavier that went 8-0 to start the season, Dukes coach Ron Everhart offered a resounding "yes."
"In some ways even better," he said. "I thought they were really active, they were looking to pass first. Their depth is scary. The kids who have had to fill in, you can tell they've obviously gotten a lot better. ... Collectively, I thought they looked a whole lot like they were early in the year."
Duquesne struggled from the perimeter, hitting just 2 of 16 shots from 3-point range, was outrebounded, 40-28, and played, statistically, the worst it has all year against the premier team in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
As a result, the Dukes dropped to 10-7, 1-2.
"We've got to play harder, execute better and obviously rebound better. We've just got to do everything better; that's why they smoked us tonight," said guard T.J. McConnell, who got into foul trouble early and finished with just four points.
Duquesne started the second half with a 14-6 run, using nine points by Jerry Jones -- a 3-pointer, a reverse, two free throws and a layup. Sean Johnson scored off a turnover and Andre Marhold hit one of two free throws to make it 51-30.
"I felt like our guys were embarrassed coming into halftime," said Everhart of the Dukes' 44-16 disadvantage.
"They played a little harder in the second half. I thought we changed the game around a little bit, but, at that point, it was way too big of a mountain to climb.
"I don't know how many assists [Xavier] ended up with, but they really shared the ball well, almost on every possession."
The game was out of hand at that point and the gap grew as Xavier continued to shoot lights out, including at least six slam-dunks off alley-oops.
Dezmine Wells had 16 points for Xavier, Fellow starters Tu Holloway and Kenny Frease added 11, and Jeff Robinson had another 12 off the bench.
"Guys are playing with renewed energy and are sharing the ball even better than the first eight games," said Xavier coach Chris Mack.
The team had 20 total assists and 17 second-chance points thanks to a dominating rebounding performance.
"They crashed the boards on us a lot and got easy second-chance points," said guard Eric Evans. "I just told everybody to keep fighting. We wanted to fight it out and see what would happen in the end."
Duquesne struggled early, making 2 of15 from the floor in the first 10 minutes and trailing, 20-7, by the 10-minute mark. By halftime the Dukes were down, 44-16.
McConnell and forward Andre Marhold picked up three fouls apiece in the first half.
Johnson was responsible for the team's only two baskets in the first 10 minutes.
Duquesne entered the game leading the A-10 in scoring offense (77.7 ppg), assists (16.6), turnover margin (plus-6.6) and assist-turnover ratio ( 1.4).
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NOTES -- B.J. Monteiro did not play, but is expected to return to action Saturday at Rhode Island. ... Duquesne's 16 first-half points marked the lowest total in a half by a Xavier opponent since Charlotte scored 13 in the first half of a 69-47 loss Jan. 28, 2009.
"I felt like our guys were embarrassed coming into halftime."
-- Ron Everhart, Duquesne coach
First Published January 12, 2012 12:00 am
