Nov. 7, 2009

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CINCINNATI - Sophomore guard Jordan Crawford led four Musketeers in double-figures with 16 points and added five assists to lead the Xavier University men's basketball team past Northern Kentucky, 83-66, in exhibition play on Saturday evening at Cintas Center.

The contest will be XU's final exhibition of the season and the team will open regular season play on Friday, November 13 against Youngstown State. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. at Cintas Center and the contest will be televised regionally by FSN Ohio.

Crawford's 16 came on 6-of-13 shooting and his five assists came against only one turnover.

Sophomore point guard Terrell Holloway added 13 points and dished-out three assists. Junior forward Jamel MacLean was everywhere on Saturday, scoring 12 points and skying for 13 rebounds. MacLean was an efficient 4-of-6 from the field.

Sophomore guard Brad Redford was a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the 3-point arc on his way to 12 points.

The Norse were able to trim a nine-point second-half deficit to five points after Dustin Maguire canned a 3-pointer at the 15:20 mark, making the score 49-44. However, the Musketeers seized control of the contest with a decisive 17-6 run over the next 5:40, and the team took a commanding 66-50 lead with 9:40 to go. XU would extend its second-half edge to as many as 19 points en route to the 83-66 win.

XU was hot from the field vs. NKU, connecting on 54.4 percent (31-of-57) of its field goals, including a scorching 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from long range. Northern Kentucky shot a solid 46 percent (23-for-50) from the field but was out-scored by a sizeable 46-to-26 margin in the paint.

XU looked solid early and jumped out to a 23-14 lead after sophomore center Kenny Frease converted on back-to-back put backs to give the Musketeers a nine-point edge with seven-minutes remaining in the first half.

The Norse would get hot though and cut the Xavier lead to two points, 32-30 after Chris Knight buried a jumper with 2:30 to go. MacLean would score four points heading into halftime though, giving the Musketeers are 38-33 lead at the break.

Xavier Musketeers Men's Basketball

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