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BOX SCORE
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Different year, same stakes, same remarkable outcome. Xavier got 'em again.
Kevin Frey hit a driving bank shot and then two free throws with 8.9 seconds left as underdog Xavier beat No. 1 Cincinnati 66-64 Saturday night, providing a bookend upset of its crosstown rival.
Three years ago, the small Jesuit school knocked off Cincinnati under
nearly identical circumstances -- the Bearcats were unbeaten, ranked No.
1 and playing on their home court when Lenny Brown's jumper gave the
Musketeers a stunning 71-69 victory.
The only differences this time were that Xavier (6-2) was playing at home
and the Musketeers missed their final shot, but it didn't matter. The
Musketeers fed off the capacity crowd at Cincinnati Gardens and beat a
team that had a huge advantage in size, depth and experience.
"It's been unreal," said forward Darnell Williams, who was part of both
upsets. "Another one goes down, baby. Three years twice."
When the buzzer sounded, hundreds of fans stormed the court and
embraced the players, rubbing their blue body paint on them.
"I can't even describe it," the exultant Williams said.
|  | | Cincinnati's Steve Logan, right, fouls Xavier's Maurice McAfee in front of Pete Mickeal, left. |
Cincinnati (8-1) trailed most of the game as Xavier forced the action and
hit free throws -- 23-of-30 in all. Frey's two swishes with 8.9 seconds
left were the biggest, putting Xavier ahead 66-62.
"It's just like when you're growing up. You just step up to the line," Frey
said. "You're playing the No. 1 team in the nation. I just saw myself in the
backyard or on the playground. You put yourself in your own little
world."
After Kenyon Martin scored inside with 6.1 seconds left, Lloyd Price
was fouled and went to the line for two free throws with 3.3 seconds left.
He missed them both, but Alvin Brown slapped the rebound out to Price,
who threw up an errant shot that drained the final few seconds from the
clock and set off a rush of hundreds of fans onto the court.
"It feels like any other loss, nothing much special," said Cincinnati's Pete
Mickeal, trying to play down the loss of bragging rights. "Now we've just
got to get it back and start all over again, and we will."
The last time Cincinnati lost to Xavier by two points, it lost its No. 1
ranking a week later.
"I've said from Day 1 that we're on course to be good, not great," coach
Bob Huggins said. "We're not No. 1. I've told them, but other people tell
them different and they listen to them more than they listen to me."
Maurice McAfee led Xavier with 17 points, Williams had 16 and Frey
scored 12, most of them against Martin, who scored all but two of his 16
points in the second half.
It didn't even matter that Xavier's top rebounder, Aaron Turner, was
suspended before the game for academic deficiencies. The Musketeers
followed the advice of Lenny Brown, who visited them two days before
the game and delivered a message: Don't be intimidated.
They weren't. Xavier blanketed Cincinnati's brawnier front line with a
zone defense, hit its free throws and hit one daring shot after another as it
pulled away to an 11-point lead in the first half -- the first time Cincinnati
has felt such pressure all season.
Martin's three-point play with 6:07 left put Cincinnati ahead 59-58, the
Bearcats' first lead in more than 24 minutes. But Xavier made it come
down to free throws.
Xavier's chances took a hit before the game when Turner, a 6-foot-7
forward who averages 8.7 rebounds per game, was suspended
indefinitely for academics. The Jesuit school said Turner met NCAA
grade requirements to play, but not the university's expectations. Turner
will be eligible to return next semester, which begins Jan. 10.
Cincinnati scored the game's first five points before Xavier's defense
settled in and Williams, the only senior in the starting lineup, found his
touch.
Williams' four-point play loosened things for Xavier. He had a dunk, a
3-pointer and five consecutive free throws in a 19-8 spurt that put Xavier
up by 11 points with one minute left.
Martin, limited to two points and two rebounds in the first half, had a
layup and dunk as the Bearcats cut it to 44-41 early in the second half.
Martin's turnaround jumper made it 54-52 with 9:29 to play, when it
seemed Xavier was starting to wear down.
The Musketeers had just enough to hold on at the end, after Price made a
play that gave them one last chance. He stole Kenny Satterfield's pass
and called timeout just as he dove out of bounds with 13.1 seconds left,
setting up Frey's pivotal basket off the inbounds pass.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Cincinnati Clubhouse
Xavier Clubhouse
Xavier raises stakes by upsetting No. 1 Cincinnati
Weekly Watch: Carpe Diem
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Kevin Frey beats the defense with 8.9 seconds left.
avi: 1085 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Xavier strips the ball and pushs it to Darnell Williams for the easy two.
avi: 654 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Kenyon Martin flexes his muscle in the paint.
avi: 680 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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