Xavier beats No. 23 Richmond in 2OT
February 28, 2010
CINCINNATI (AP)—Terrell Holloway scored seven of his 24 points during thesecond overtime Sunday, and Xavier held on for a 78-76 victory over No. 23Richmond in an Atlantic 10 first-place showdown.
Both teams came into the game as part of a three-way tie with No. 20 Templefor a share of first. Xavier (21-7, 12-2) is trying to win a fourth straightA-10 regular-season title. It played out in championship form.
The Musketeers haven’t lost an A-10 home game since the end of the 2005-06season, running off 31 in a row—the second-longest such streak in leaguehistory. Richmond (22-7, 11-3) was best suited the break the streak, bringingthe A-10’s best road record at 5-1. The Spiders kept their poise and twiceprevented Xavier from finishing them off.
David Gonzalvez hit a tying 3 with 24 seconds left in regulation, andXavier’s Jordan Crawford missed a 3 at the buzzer. Crawford also missed a12-foot jumper at the end of the first overtime, keeping it tied at 70. It endedwhen Richmond’s Justin Harper missed a driving layup at the final buzzer.
Gonzalvez led Richmond with 18 points. Crawford scored 19 points inregulation, but failed to make a shot in either overtime and had a pair ofturnovers.
The victory stretched Xavier’s overall home-court winning streak to 23, tiedfor the third-longest active streak in Division I. It also snapped Richmond’seight-game winning streak, its longest in a dozen years.
There were 12 ties and 14 lead changes, with neither team up by more thansix in the second half or overtime.
Holloway got going in the first overtime, hitting a pair of driving basketsand taking a charge. Crawford’s miss sent it to another overtime, which startedwith Holloway hitting a 3, a pull-up jumper and a pair of free throws. He alsotook another charge that helped Xavier pull ahead to stay.
Xavier had a chance to take control at the outset, pulling ahead 22-15 forthe biggest lead of the game. The Spiders hung in by hitting tough 3s. Eight ofRichmond’s first 11 baskets came from behind the arc, including five in a row.Xavier led 38-34 at halftime, when the Spiders were 8 of 17 from behind the arc.
The second half matched the first—back-and-forth scoring, neither teamable to put together a run, repeatedly making it come down to a final shot.