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BYU MEN: Xavier extends Cougars' NCAA Tournament woes |
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JaredLloyd | Thursday, March 15, 2007, 11:12 pm
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Jason Franchuk
DAILY HERALD
LEXINGTON, Ky. — The shot went in, the buzzer sounded. And Dave Rose, in his familiar crouch on the sideline Thursday, could only cover his mouth and visibly yell something to himself.
What his last words were during the NCAA first-round game at Rupp Arena may never be known, and really, what does it matter? BYU’s season ended, 79-77 to Xavier, as the Cougars struggled in the final 56 seconds.
The last score, an uncontested layup at the final horn, came as BYU needed to get four points to tie in the final 11 seconds, while starting at the other end of the floor. Austin Ainge had all of his options taken away by Xavier’s defense except to drive to the hoop. And he got stuck, ultimately sitting on the floor fighting for the ball as precious seconds continued to evaporate.
“We’re just happy to be moving on,” Xavier’s Justin Doellman said after scoring 23 points for the No. 9 seed in a win against No. 8.
And it probably should be those players making the short drive home, instead of the Cougars packing up on a chartered flight back to Provo — a long flight made all the longer by a rare chance slipping away.
“I don’t think it takes away (from what BYU accomplished),” Ainge said of finishing 25-9. “But it leaves something unfinished. It was a goal and we didn’t quite get it done. That hurts.”
Searching for their first tournament victory since 1993, it was a bitter ending considering Xavier looked outmatched for essentially the first 35 minutes. The Musketeers rallied and took an occasional quick lead here and there, but it was BYU that forced the action and worked into the biggest advantages on the scoreboard.
It’s hard to say that Xavier’s previous tournament experience definitely did in the Cougars.
They had a six-point lead at halftime; a nine-point lead with 16 minutes left; an eight-point spread with 14 remaining. Even a two-point advantage with 2:10 left.
So, really, it was hardly all Ainge’s fault. It was a late, unfamiliar meltdown by the Cougars where there was a chance to pull out an NCAA breakthrough.
“I thought it came down to a couple of plays at the end,” Rose said.
There were seemingly plenty of opportunities before then to put away Xavier, which improved to 25-8 and will play Ohio State in the second round Saturday.
BYU took its largest lead, nine points, with 16:19 left. But the Musketeers rallied by what they do best: force free throws, and make them.
Amazing stat – Xavier coach Sean Miller’s team has made more charity shots this year than its opponents have attempted.
It made 23-of-29, while BYU went 10-for-13.
Constant foul trouble, and an inability to succeed inside with a straight defense, forced BYU to play zone.
Still, Xavier made 3-pointers. It hit 8-of-17, including three during a 15-6 run that tied the score at 55 with about 11 minutes left.
When Xavier failed to make shots, it got second chances. Derrick Brown contributed just eight points, but added 16 rebounds.
“Unbelieveable,” Mike Rose said.
Maybe the key stat: Xavier won the rebounding edge, 37-36. BYU is 24-2 when capturing that battle, now 1-7 when the other team cleans the glass better.
Just as unbelievable, though?
Five-foot-7 dynamo Drew Lavender taking over the game. He was lectured by his coach after being taken out in the first half for not running the offense properly. Six of his 17 points came in the final 1:53, including a couple of running floaters that were reminiscent of San Diego State standout Brandon Heath, only coming from a guy nine inches shorter. He tied the score at 1:53 with the shot, then gave Xavier a 75-73 lead 41 seconds later on the exact same play.
Lavender wasn’t an impact player in the first half, and Xavier struggled in front of a crowd that had its back.
BYU allowed the first basket then scored the next nine points. It was by forcing Xavier misses, then getting into a transition offense like Miller knew the Cougars loved to do, that set up early success.
Mike Rose hit some 3-pointers, and Sam Burgess played valiantly off the bench, getting a basket and three offensive rebounds.
Keena Young, who had a game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds, was his typically sturdy self. And Trent Plaisted, who started timid in a variety of expressions — traveling calls, missed shots, an airballed free throw 10:44 into the contest — found rhythm as the game wound down.
Just not enough.
Keena Young led BYU with 24 points and Mike Rose added 15 off the bench, hitting his first five three-point attempts.
Ainge had 12 and Balderson chipped in 10.
Rose’s final words to the team that sat in a desolate locker room, munching lightly on sandwiches and chips, were that he was proud. He thanked them for fighting all year, for bringing the program to another level — just not as high as anyone hoped.
His nephew, playing in his last game at BYU, understands after playing in the tournament twice in four years what last night could’ve meant.
Ainge and Plaisted each missed shots on BYU’s last valuable possession, and Lavender hit a couple of free throws for a four-point lead with 11.2 seconds remaining.
The rest is a blur, and will take time for BYU to focus on the positives.
“Coach told us that it was going to hurt for a while, but as time went by we’d be able to reflect on all we accomplished,” Mike Rose said. “We were ranked this year for the first time in a long time, we beat Utah twice, won a league title and won at Utah. This team did a lot of things. But it’s definitely tough to lose now. You work so hard to get here, and you don’t know when you’ll get another chance like this.” |
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