March 29, 2008

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PHOENIX -Sophomore Derrick Brown scored 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting to lead three Musketeers in double-figures but it was not enough as the No. 3 seed Xavier University men's basketball team dropped a 76-57 decision to No. 1 UCLA in the West Regional Final of the 2008 Division I NCAA Men's Basketball Championship at the U.S. Airways Center.  With the loss, Xavier concludes its season with a school-best 30-7 record while the Bruins improve to 35-3. 

Brown also snared six rebounds and dished-out a pair of assists.  Senior forward Josh Duncan scored 11 points while junior forward C.J. Anderson added 10.  For his efforts during XU's run in The Tournament, Duncan was voted onto the West Region All-Tournament Team.    

Senior point guard Drew Lavender scored just five points but he did drop a game-high six dimes and also chased down six rebounds. 

Stanley Burrell scored eight points and snared four rebounds in his final game as a Musketeer.   

XU trailed by nine points, 33-24, at the break and a Lavender floater just 50-seconds into the second half shrunk the deficit to six points. 

However, UCLA sprinted out to a 12-0 run over the next 3:20 and extended the lead to 20 points, 48-28, after Kevin Love buried a 3-pointer.  The Bruins stretched the lead to 21 points, 51-30, when Darren Collison made a 3-pointer at the 13:30 mark as the shot clock expired.

Xavier would not lie down though and responded with a 7-0 run over the next 1:50 and pulled to within 14 points, 51-37, at the 11:40 mark after Duncan nailed a couple of free throws.  An Anderson driving lay-up with 10:10 to go cut the deficit to 12 points but a 10-2 UCLA run put the game away.  The 10-2 spurt was capped by Kevin Love's second 3-pointer of the night with 7:10 remaining in regulation. 

UCLA out-rebounded the Musketeers by a 37-to-28 count and scorched the nets at a 53.8 percent clip.  XU was cold from the field for most of the afternoon and shot just 36.2 percent from the field and 21.1 percent from 3-point range.

XU turned the ball over only nine times and forced UCLA into 14 miscues.   

The Musketeers struggled from the floor in the first half, connecting on only 33.3 percent (11-of-33) of their attempts from the field.  However, XU trailed by only four points, 24-20, after Burrell connected on a 3-pointer at the four-minute mark. 

The Bruins answered with a 9-4 spurt to end the first stanza and head into the locker room up 33-24 after Collison dropped in a floater in the lane with the clock winding down.