Xavier University Athletics
Xavier University
Hawai'i
Xavier Drops Heartbreaker In Overtime To Hawaii, 84-82
12.24.11 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 24, 2011
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HONOLULU - - The No. 14/15 Xavier men's basketball dropped its second straight contest at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic, this time losing to Hawaii 84-82 in overtime of the consolation semifinals.
The loss drops the Musketeers to 8-3 on the season and marks the first time since 2004 that they have lost three games in a row. The Rainbow Warriors are 6-5 with the win.
Senior guard Tu Holloway led all players with 26 points and six assists while his backcourt teammate Mark Lyons - who returned after serving a two-game suspension - had 18 points.
Xavier led by as many as 15 during the contest, but let the lead slip away with several players in foul trouble.
With nearly 14 minutes remaining in the contest a costly foul sent Mark Lyons to the bench with Xavier maintaining a double-digit lead. Lyons had a key contributor to keeping the Rainbows at bay, scoring 11 points after halftime.
With him on the bench, Hawaii started its climb back into the game. They would never overtake the lead as Xavier maintained a small lead during the final minutes of regulation but would tie the game with seconds to spare.
After Holloway hit a jumper with 20.4 seconds left to give the Musketeers a 77-74 lead, Hawaii's Hauns Brereton hit an off-balance, hanging 3-point shot with two seconds to tie the score. Hawaii had a chance to win the game in regulation after Xavier turned the ball over, but Holloway stole the ball and set up the overtime period.
The Rainbow Warriors started the extra time with two dunks and Xavier had Lyons hit a jumper and Holloway make two free throws to keep the score even. Travis Taylor would make one free throw to tie the game at 82-all with 12.4 seconds left.
Joston Thomas - who had a team-high 24 points for the Rainbow Warriors - received the ball and went to the rim and scored the game-winning basket with just one second remaining to give Hawaii the victory.
Xavier will play its final game of the Diamond Head Classic against Southern Illinois at 2 p.m. EST and 9 a.m. HST on Christmas Day. It will be the second matchup between the schools, with the Salukis having won the only meeting back in 1972.
It was a 13-2 run that eventually pulled Hawaii within two points with six minutes remaining. Lyons returned to the game at that point and immediately contributed back to the offense with a high floater off the glass.
The Musketeers had a chance to score after the Rainbow Warriors tied the game but they were called for an in-bounds violation giving the Rainbow Warriors the ball under the rim.
Xavier finished shooting 44.8 percent (30-of-67) on the day and 37.5 percent (9-of-24) from outside. Hawaii finished with 47.7 percent (31-of-65) shooting and with 30.8 percent (4-of-13) from deep, with all of its treys coming in the second half.
The Musketeers came out looking to avenge back-to-back losses and did so by building a quick 12-0 lead just 2.5 minutes into the contest. Martin provided the biggest punch scoring Xavier's first eight points.
Hawaii would rally though to cut the lead down to eight several times during the half, but Xavier responded each time and held a 45-34 at halftime. It was the most points at halftime this season for the Musketeers.
As a team the Musketeers were 51.6 shooting (14-of-27) in the first half, which included a 50 percent (7-of-14) mark from long range. Xavier hit more 3-pointers in the first half alone than its previous two contests with Holloway having three treys to lead the way.
He was the Musketeers' leading scorer at the break with 16 points. It marks the third time in his career - and first since facing Gonzaga last season - that he had 16 points at the break.
Hawaii shook off a 0-for-6 start from the floor and finished shooting 46.4 percent (13-of-28) from the floor in the half and failed to hit on its five 3-point attempts. Thomas did the heavy lifting going for 18 points by himself in the period. The other Rainbow Warriors were just 7-of-20 shooting in the first half.
Early foul trouble allowed Hawaii to reach the bonus at the 14:02 mark in the first half. They scored eight points in the line from the charity stripe on 16 attempts during the half.
