Musketeers Capture Crosstown Shootout with Win Over UC

Dec. 12, 2007

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CINCINNATI - Sophomore forward Derrick Brown posted a career-high 17 points, including 7-of-8 from the line, to lead all scorers Wednesday night in No. 17 Xavier University's 64-59 win over Cincinnati in the annual Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout at a sold out Cintas Center on XU's campus. Senior guard Drew Lavender added 12 points and five assists. With the win, Xavier improves to 8-1 on the season and have now won seven straight contests while Cincinnati falls to 4-5 on the year.

Brown connected on 5-of-10 from the field and tied his career high in free throws made with seven while grabbing six boards. Senior guard Stanley Burrell knocked in 10 points after a perfect night from the line (4-4). Senior Josh Duncan tallied 11 points on the night before leaving the game with an injury to round out four Musketeers in double figures.

Junior forward B.J. Raymond snatched down a team-high eight rebounds and junior guard/forward C.J. Anderson added seven points as Xavier shot a season-low 38.6 percent from the field.

With the score tied at 53-all with just over two and a half minutes remaining in the game, Lavender recorded only his second career block denying UC's Deonta Vaughn. At the other end of the floor, Brown slammed home a dunk as the Musketeers took a two-point lead. The Bearcats would get no closer as XU went 7-of-8 from the line down the stretch.

The Musketeers stretched their 29-25 halftime lead to six points, 35-29, after Duncan converted on a driving lay-up three-minutes into the second half.  That score capped a dominant stretch by Duncan as the Cincinnati native scored 11 of XU's 13 points over a 4:40 span. 

UC would not go away though and used an 8-0 run over a 2:50 stretch to take a 48-43 lead with 6:50 remaining in regulation. 

Brown would take over from there though, scoring eight points over the next 4:50 to help Xavier reclaim a 55-53 lead it would not relinquish at the two-minute mark.  Brown capped the run with a fast-break dunk that sent the Cintas Center crowd into a frenzy. 

XU would stretch its lead out to as many as eight points with clutch free throw shooting down the stretch. 

UC jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the early stages of the first half but the Musketeers stormed out to a 10-0 run over the next 3:20 to take a 12-7 lead after Burrell buried a 3-pointer at the 14:20 mark. 

The Bearcats would answer with a 10-0 run of their own though and matched their largest lead of the half, 17-12, after Jamual Williams converted on a lay-up at 11:30. 

The remainder of the half continued in back-and-forth fashion, featuring three ties and five lead changes.  XU would head into the locker room with a 29-25 lead though after Duncan connected on his first 3-pointer of the game as time expired. 

XU shot a frigid 32.1 percent from the floor in the first half, marking its lowest output of the season in any half.  Xavier was also out-rebounded by a 26-to-16 count in the first stanza. 

The Musketeers will be back in action on Saturday, December 15 when they travel to Tempe, Ariz. to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils.  Game time is set for 4 p.m. EST and the contest will be televised nationally by FSN. 

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