| | CINCINNATI -- Once a year, Xavier turns from its Jesuit ways
and acts on a fervently held basketball belief: It's much more fun
to torment thy neighbor.
It's especially true when the neighbor is ranked No. 1.
For the second time in four years, the Musketeers have given a
crosstown comeuppance to a Cincinnati team that was unbeaten and
unchallenged at the top of the poll.
|  | | Kevin Frey extends to get a shot off over Kenyon Martin. |
Xavier's 66-64 victory Saturday night completed a bookend set up
upsets that are among the sweetest in school history. Kevin Frey's
two free throws and layup in the closing seconds left the
Musketeers and hundreds of their fans hugging on the court.
"Yeah, baby! That's two times!" senior forward Darnell
Williams screamed while standing on a courtside media table. "You
got to love it!"
Love it? The Musketeers (6-2) never get tired of doing it.
In 1996, Xavier pulled off one of the greatest upsets in its
history. The Musketeers rallied in the closing minutes on
Cincinnati's home court and stunned the Bearcats 71-69 on Lenny
Brown's floating jumper at the buzzer.
Two years ago, Xavier won by 20 points on its home court, a
whipping that ranks as one of the worst in coach Bob Huggins'
career at Cincinnati.
The upset Saturday was the biggest of them all. Cincinnati (8-1)
had huge advantages in size, depth and experience and brought a No.
1 ranking and a smirk into the game.
Xavier acted on its principles just before tip-off, suspending
top rebounder Aaron Turner for academic deficiencies even though he
was eligible to play by NCAA standards. He wasn't living up to the
standards at Xavier, which has one of the best graduation rates in
the nation.
Cincinnati's Kenyon Martin wore a smirk when he took the court
for tip-off and flexed his biceps after a dunk. But it didn't take
long for the Bearcats to lose their swagger.
Using a 1-3-1 defense, Xavier shut down Martin in the first half
-- two rebounds, two points -- and pulled ahead by 11. The Bearcats
became tentative.
"Our aggression level wasn't very good in the first half,"
Huggins said.
It was a nightmare for Cincinnati, which has had one major
weakness the past few years: The Bearcats freeze up against zone
defenses. It was supposed to be different this season with
sophomore Steve Logan and freshmen DerMarr Johnson and Kenny
Satterfield to handle the ball on the perimeter and riddle zone
defenses by shooting over them.
Not so. Against Xavier, the Bearcats' offense looked like it was
playing on a court slathered with molasses.
"When people are trapping and trying to make you play fast, you
have to play some individual offense and ours wasn't very good,"
Huggins said.
"When you lose a game like this, other teams are going to try
to do the same thing they did to us," forward Pete Mickeal said.
Xavier rarely plays a 1-3-1 zone, but stuck with it because
Cincinnati never figured out how to attack it.
"To be honest with you, I was very shocked that we were able to
play it as long as we did," coach Skip Prosser said. "It's
something we don't use a lot. I'll bet we've used it less than five
possessions all year."
When Cincinnati caught up in the second half, Prosser told his
team to tough it out.
"Play to win," Prosser said. "Don't dare to be tentative."
The Musketeers made the big plays down the stretch to pull it
out. Frey hit a pair of free throws and then a layup after Lloyd
Price stole the ball, putting Xavier ahead to stay.
"To beat a team that strong, a lot of things have to go right
for you," Prosser said.
It was a lot like 1996, when a turnover gave Brown a chance to
make that game-winning shot. The Musketeers had watched tape of
that shot as they prepared for the rematch last week.
"It gave me a tingle," said Frey, who was still in high school
in '96. "I remember watching it on TV and not knowing who Xavier
was. It didn't mean a lot to me then. It planted the idea in my
head that this could be done." | |
ALSO SEE
History repeats itself as Musketeers stun Bearcats
Weekly Watch: Carpe Diem
|
