Sunday, February 27, 2000Riled-up Muskies seek revenge
Loss to La Salle at Gardens was low point for XU
BY MICHAEL PERRY
The Cincinnati EnquirerPHILADELPHIA — Xavier brings a little anger into today's game at LaSalle.
It's not that the Musketeers are mad at the Explorers for their 31-point victory at the Cincinnati Gardens last month. It's that Xavier is mad at itself for getting blasted on its home floor.
“We were humiliated, to be honest with you, but we brought that upon ourselves and only we can change that,” sophomore Lloyd Price said.
XU at La SALLE • When: 2p.m. today
• Where: Tom Gola Arena (4,000), Philadelphia
• Records: Xavier 17-9, 7-6; LaSalle 10-14, 4-9
• TV: Fox Sports Net Ohio
• Radio: WLW-AM (700)
BY THE NUMBERS
• 7: Double-doubles by freshman David West
• 12: Xavier's freshman record for double-doubles, set by Brian Grant in the 1990-91 season
• 1981-82: Last time XU lost six straight league road games in one season.“I think we just came out with a lack of effort. We watched tape and there was no emotion out there on the court. It was a sick, sick thing to watch.”
In a roller-coaster season, LaSalle's 80-49 victory — which ended Xavier's 24-game home winning streak — was perhaps the Musketeers' lowest moment.
Fans left shaking their heads. The players were stunned in the locker room afterward.
Even the Explorers were shocked.
“You never expect to go into the Gardens and win as convincingly as we did,” LaSalle coach Speedy Morris said. “That's just not going to happen many times.
“It was close to a perfect game for us, and they didn't play a Xavier-type game. It was just one of those unbelievable things. They're certainly going to come in here wanting to avenge it.”
Yep. That and get their second Atlantic 10 road victory — and first since winning at Rhode Island on Jan. 9.
Since then, the Musketeers have lost five in a row against conference teams away from the Gardens.
In their quest for NCAA Tournament consideration, Xavier must win today — and that's not the last time you will hear that.
“We're embarrassed,” XU senior Darnell Williams said. “Everybody will be ready to play.”
In the first game against LaSalle, Xavier shot just 31.9 percent from the field, had 19 turnovers, was out-rebounded, out-hustled, out-everythinged. Only Lloyd Price (14 points) scored in double figures.
The Explorers, meanwhile, shot 49.2 percent, committed only eight turnovers and had four players score in double figures.
XU coach Skip Prosser did not tell his players to forget that game and write it off as a fluke. He made them study tape of it.
“It was like watching a Wes Craven movie,” Prosser said. “It was scary. There's not one thing that we did well in that game.”
Williams remembers feeling “horrible,” worse than after any game, including the first-round 1998 NCAA Tournament loss to Washington. Price refuses to recall how he felt, saying he has put it out of his mind.
Prosser doesn't mind his team being mad. When the Musketeers are ornery, sometimes they play better. Witness: the shellacking of Duquesne after Simon Ogunlesi hit Kevin Frey in the head.
They have already avenged league losses to Dayton, Duquesne and George Washington by beating those teams the second time around.
“Usually when you have a healthy hatred for somebody, you play better,” Prosser said. “I don't really care who they're angry with, I just hope they play well.”
Xavier, which will start Kevin Frey instead of Reggie Butler for a quicker lineup, has played only once at Tom Gola Arena, the on-campus gym LaSalle moved into last season for the first time in years.
That game, LaSalle guard Donnie Carr shut down Xavier's Lenny Brown (eight points on 3-of-12 shooting) and the Explorers handed the Musketeers an 88-75 defeat that may have helped prevent them from getting to the 1999 NCAA Tournament.
“It's our house, we have to protect it,” Morris said. “We think we know what we have to do. It's one thing to know it, it's another thing to go out and do it. We know one thing, it's not going to be a 31-point game. We'd be very happy to get out of it with a one-pointer, and hopefully we'll be able to do that.”
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