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I am a freelance writer. I've covered the Cincinnati Reds, Bengals and others since 1992. I have a background in sales as well. I've sold consumer electronics, advertising and consumer package goods for companies ranging from the now defunct Circuit City to Procter&Gamble. I have worked as a stats operator for Xavier University, the University of Cincinnati, the College of Mount St. Joe and Colerain High School.

Friday, January 11, 2013

Xavier Opens Atlantic 10 Schedule With a Win

The Xavier Musketeers struggled through four straight defeats but got off the canvas to paint a 57-52 win over Temple that was far from a masterpiece.

Forced shots and untimely turnovers by both teams led to lead changes.  Temple scored the first eight points in the second half but six of Xavier's seven second half field goals in an eight minute span, lifted the Musketeers to an 11-point advantage.

Temple fought back and closed the gap to two points with 5:39 to play but Xavier was tougher down the stretch to secure a conference win over a 10-4 Owl squad.

"It's a situation that we've had a lot this year," Xavier coach Chris Mack said.  "We get a little halftime lead, get up in the second half and it quickly dissipates."

Semaj Christon led all scorers with 16 points.  Travis Taylor had 11 points and 10 rebounds.  Brad Redford made three tough 3-point shots, including two in Xavier's decisive stretch run.

Dee Davis injured his left wrist in the middle of the first half, leaving XU without a true point guard.  The wrist was not broken and Davis returned in the last two minutes, when Temple was expected to foul.  It was obvious that he could only handle the ball with his right hand.

"His wrist is not broken.  Beyond that, I don't know," Mack said.  "I think he sprained a ligament."

Redford and Christon had to cover for Davis.

"You've got guys playing out of place and you just have to manage as best you can," Redford said.  "I think we did a good job of competing and not worrying about who was on the court."

Anthony Lee led Temple with 15 points and seven rebounds.  Scootie Randall scored 13 and Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson scored 11 points for the Owls.

The important factor for Xavier was breaking the losing streak as well as getting off to a good start in conference play.

"It was unreal," Taylor said.  "It was just an unreal feeling.  We competed from minute one to minute 40.  Anytime you compete that hard and play to the last minute.  You deserve to win."

Temple's Khalif Wyatt recognized Xavier's effort was the key.

"We came out and made a run to start the second half," Wyatt said.  'They came out and put together a run but we didn't quit and got back in it.  They made a couple more shots than we did.  They were tougher down the stretch and got to some loose balls."










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