March 13, 2009

Box Score

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Held to just two field goals over the final seven minutes, top-seeded Xavier fell to No. 4 seed Temple, 55-53, in their Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament semifinal. Senior B.J. Raymond scored 15 second-half points, but the Owls' Dionte Christmas scored 10 of his team's last 11 points to lead Temple to the finals.

Raymond finished with 18 points, hitting 4-of-6 from beyond the three-point arc, while junior Derrick Brown finished with a team-high 19 points, 15 of which came in the first half. Sophomore Jamel McLean pulled down a team-best nine rebounds.

The Musketeers held Christmas, the conference's second-leading scorer in the regular season, to just seven points in the first half. He took the shots when it mattered most, however, hitting three-pointers on consecutive possessions with under two minutes to seal the Owls' bid into the championship game. He finished with a game-high 20 points.

Xavier built an early 11-4 lead, sparked by five straight points by Brown to open the game. Temple held the Musketeers without a field goal for over five minutes, when a layup by McLean gave XU a 13-11 advantage with 11:45 remaining in the first half.

The lead was built up to five points on a three-pointer by Brown with 8:11 on the clock, but the Owls went on an 8-2 run over the next minute and a half to take their first lead of the game, 26-25. Brown ended the rally with a three-pointer to give the lead back to Xavier, but that was the squad's last field goal of the half and Temple took a 31-30 advantage into halftime.

After a jumper by the Owls pushed the lead to three, Raymond began his second half surge with a trey to tie the game at the 18:20 mark. The teams traded baskets over the next five minutes, when a pair of free throws by Temple's Semaj Inge knotted the contest at 40-40.

XU built its biggest lead of the second half when Brown hit a jumper with 7:24 to play to put the Musketeers in front 47-44. The Owls scored the next seven points, capped by a three-pointer by Christmas at the 1:50 mark to put Temple in front 51-47.

A pair of free throws by Raymond pulled the Musketeers within two, 51-49, but Christmas responded with a step-back trey from the wing to give the Owls their largest lead of the game, 54-49, with just over a minute remaining.

Brown made it a one-possession game with a jumper in the paint and XU got a steal on defense, setting up a final opportunity for the Musketeer with less than 15 seconds to play. Raymond created some space off the dribble, but his three-point try hit front rim, and a free throw by Christmas on the other end sealed the Temple win.

Xavier will now await its seeding as an at-large team in the NCAA Tournament, which will be announced during Sunday's Selection Show at 6 p.m.