NASHVILLE — It was a game of firsts for the No. 11/11 Xavier men’s basketball team as it defeated No. 19/20 Vanderbilt, 82-70, Monday night at VU’s Memorial Gymnasium. It was the Musketeers’ first road win of the season, first overtime game of the season, and first win over a ranked opponent this season.
With the win XU improved to 5-0, its best start under third-year head coach Chris Mack. Vanderbilt fell to 5-2 with the loss. The Musketeers are now 2-0 over teams from the Southeastern Conference this season.
The backcourt tandem of senior Tu Holloway and junior Mark Lyons led the way for the Musketeers. Holloway tied a season-high 24 points on 6-of-20 from the field including a 3-of-5 mark from 3-point land. The senior scored 10 of his 24 points in overtime. Lyons put up 19 points on 7-of-18 from the field. Junior Travis Taylor posted a season-high 11 points, including six in the first frame.
Vanderbilt was led by John Jenkins with 20 points while Lance Gouldbourne and Jeffery Taylor posted 18 each.
Xavier won the battle of the boards in commanding fashion, out-rebounding the Commodores 54-33, including 25 offensive boards to VU’s nine. Senior Andre Walker, who played for Vanderbilt before transferring to Xavier this season, led all players with 14 rebounds on the night.
The Musketeers opened the overtime period with Holloway going off for two straight 3-pointers to put the Musketeers up 74-66 with 2:27 left in the game. He followed that up with four straight free-throws to seal the win and finish a night in which he went 9-for-10 from the charity stripe. Holloway also led the Musketeers in assists with four.
Vanderbilt built a 10-point, 46-36 lead thanks to a 3-pointer by Goulbourne at the 15:59 mark and a dunk by Jeffery Taylor at 15:37 in the second frame.
The Musketeers battled back to take a 52-51 lead at the 11:51 mark thanks to an 11-0 XU run. Lyons got the ball rolling with an old-fashioned 3-point play at the 12:27 mark. He followed that performance with a steal and a 3-pointer at the 12:17 mark that put the score at 51-50 in favor of the Commodores. A goaltending call at the 11:51 mark gave XU the 52-51 lead.
The two teams traded blows for the final few minutes of the game but a crucial defensive spot and beautiful spinning layup by Lyons with 6.5 seconds left in regulation sent the game into overtime with the score tied at 66-66.
The Commodores led 34-29 at the end of the first half thanks to 36.4 percent shooting from the field. The Musketeers posted 34.2 percent from the field with Travis Taylor leading the way with six on 3-of-3 from the field. In all, eight Musketeers found the bottom of the net at least once.
The two teams traded shots during the first eight minutes of action with Taylor putting up six points capped by an emphatic dunk at the 15:27 mark. A jumper by Holloway gave XU a 17-16 lead with 10:14 left in the first frame and started a 6-0 XU run over the next two minutes.
Vanderbilt outscored the Musketeers 13-7 during the final 6:30 of the first period.
Xavier will return to action as it welcomes the Purdue Boilermakers on Dec. 3 at Cintas Center. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. and the game will be televised live on ESPNU with live stats available on GoXavier.com.
Tu Holloway took this game over. Dude’s the best the A-10 has to offer and Xavier will go as far as he can lead them
Kyle – you won’t get any argument from me about Holloway’s ability. It was a relatively lonely experience touting him during his sophomore season.
Andre Walker could be the overlooked difference on the team. The last time Xavier went to the Elite Eight BJ Raymond was their stopper. Xavier’s halftime defensive adjustments that season consisted of Raymond covering whoever was hurting them. He could defend in the post, on the perimeter and off the dribble. Listening to Mack talk in the pre-season, he is saying the same thing about Walker.
I didn’t see the first half. Did Jeff Robinson get hurt? He only played 9 minutes.
I was less than impressed with Xavier’s ability to finish under the basket quite a few times throughout the game. There were multiple possessions that they got three or four opportunities in the paint, and still couldn’t score. Overall, our backcourt is solid, and as always, Tu Holloway continues to prove his Player of the Year potential. I’m pretty excited about this season though after winning this away game. It’s looking promising!
What impressed me most last night was Holloway entering the OT shooting 4 for 17 on the night. He promptly hit two 3s early in the OT to set the stage for Xavier running away in OT.
That is moxie, and that is what you need your leader to have. Casey – what was the saying ?
“Onions!!”