Tue Feb 09 2010
CINCINNATI (AP) -- By the time Jordan Crawford checked out for the last time, Xavier's student section was chanting his name.
Again.
Crawford scored a career-high 24 points in only 27 minutes Tuesday night, emerging as Xavier's best all-around scoring threat in a 101-57 victory over Bowling Green that showed the Musketeers can be a very dangerous offensive team.
Especially Crawford.
"I'm not surprised by what he's done," said senior center Jason Love, who had 12 points and 12 rebounds. "He does incredible stuff."
The sophomore shooting guard sat out last season after transferring from Indiana. He has led Xavier (2-0) in scoring each of its first two games, making shots in a balanced lineup that had five players in double figures both times.
After being relegated to practicing for the past year, Crawford is making up for lost time.
"The point guards are doing a good job finding me," Crawford said. "Every game I feel I'm getting a little more comfortable."
He wasn't alone in the comfort zone. Xavier shot 64.8 percent from the field, its best since it made 71 percent during a win over then-No. 1 Saint Joseph's in the 2004 Atlantic 10 tournament.
It was Xavier's most lopsided victory since a 98-49 win over Coppin State on Nov. 20, 2007. It was also the Musketeers' biggest offensive game since a 108-70 win over Virginia on Jan. 3, 2008.
Scott Thomas scored 13 points for Bowling Green (1-1). The defending Mid-American Conference regular-season champions kept up for the first 12 minutes, then got left in the dust when Xavier kept pushing the pace.
The Falcons packed in their defense to handle Xavier's front line of Love, Jamel McLean and Kenny Frease, leaving the perimeter open. The Musketeers worked the ball around to find an open shot and went 9-for-14 from behind the arc in the first half.
Brad Redford came off the bench and made all four of his 3-point shots in the opening half, including one awkward one that landed in the crook between the back of the rim and the backboard, then slid through. Xavier shot 63 percent from the field in the half.
"We did a lot of work on our zone offense the last couple of days," said Crawford, who was 9-for-14 from the field overall and 4 of 6 from behind the arc.
Crawford put the final touch on his big night by making the game's most memorable play. McLean missed a jumper from the right baseline, the ball bouncing high in the air off the rim. Crawford swooped in, extended his right arm high above the rim and slammed it down for his final points.
When the student section stopped screaming, it started chanting his name.
"I got lucky," said Crawford, known for dunking over LeBron James at a basketball camp in Akron last summer.
Top 25
No. 1 Kansas 57, Memphis 55
ST. LOUIS -- Cole Aldrich had 18 points, 11 rebounds and blocked five shots, helping top-ranked Kansas overcome a sloppy night to hold off Memphis in a rematch of the 2008 national championship game.
Kansas (2-0) led most of the night despite 21 turnovers, but could never shake the scrappy and supposedly overmatched Tigers.
Memphis (1-1) closed within three on Doneal Mack's 3-pointer with a minute left, then cut the lead to 56-55 on Elliot Williams' long 3 with 16.7 seconds left.
Sherron Collins hit 1 of 2 free throws at the other end to give Memphis a final chance, but Williams' contested 3-pointer clanged off the back iron.
Collins scored 12 points while struggling with leg cramps and former Memphis recruit Xavier Henry added 11.
Williams had 21 points to lead Memphis, 0-9 all-time against No. 1 teams.
No. 2 Michigan State 75, Gonzaga 71
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Durrell Summers hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:02 left, made two at the line with 5.7 seconds to go and finished with 21 points to help No. 2 Michigan State rally for a win.
The Spartans (2-0) won their 41st straight game at home against a nonconference team, extending a streak that started after a loss to Duke on Dec. 3, 2003.
Robert Sacre matched a career high with 17 points for the Bulldogs (1-1) despite foul trouble. Gonzaga freshman Elias Harris scored 17, Matt Bouldin had 15 points and Steven Gray added 13.
Kalin Lucas made a layup with 39 seconds left to give Michigan State a three-point lead and finished with 19 points. Raymar Morgan scored 16 off the bench.
No. 9 Duke 101, Charlotte 59
DURHAM, N.C. -- Nolan Smith scored a career-high 24 points in his return to Duke's lineup, and the ninth-ranked Blue Devils routed Charlotte in the second round of the NIT Season Tip-Off.
Jon Scheyer added 20 points and Kyle Singler had 17 for the Blue Devils (3-0), who never trailed, hit 12 3-pointers and shot 52.9 percent.
Shamari Spears had 20 points to lead the overmatched 49ers (2-1).
No. 10 Tennessee 124, UNC Asheville 49
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Scotty Hopson had a career-high 25 points and No. 10 Tennessee set a school record for points in a game.
It was coach Bruce Pearl's 100th win with the Volunteers, and the 124 points broke Tennessee's previous single-game record of 121 points, last achieved by the Vols in the opening round of the 2007 NCAA tournament against Long Beach State.
No. 12 Connecticut 76, Hofstra 67
STORRS, Conn. -- Jerome Dyson scored 23 points and No. 12 Connecticut rallied for a victory over Hofstra in the second round of the NIT Season Tip-Off.
UConn (3-0) trailed Hofstra 54-45 with 9 minutes remaining but went ahead 59-58 on two free throws by Dyson with 5:20 to go. The teams then exchanged the lead four times before the Huskies went up for good 63-62 with 4:16 left.
No. 17 Oklahoma 72, La.-Monroe 61
NORMAN, Okla. -- Willie Warren scored 24 points, Tony Crocker added 13 and No. 17 Oklahoma notched the 1,500th win in the program's history.
After dishing out a career-high 11 assists in the Sooners' opener, Warren played his expected role as the team's leading scorer against the Warhawks (1-2). He got to the foul line repeatedly and scored 11 points on free throws.
Oklahoma (2-0) struggled early with ULM's zone pressure, but eventually took the lead for good with a 9-0 run with about 14 minutes remaining.
Tony Hooper scored 17 points for the Warhawks before fouling out with just under 5 minutes remaining. Rudy Turner had 12 points and Dynile Forbes 11.
No. 19 Georgetown 46, Temple 45
WASHINGTON -- Greg Monroe scored on a driving layup with 6.5 seconds to play, rescuing No. 19 Georgetown from a lackluster performance to give the Hoyas a win over Temple. Georgetown won despite having more fouls (18) and turnovers (16) than made baskets (15). The Hoyas blew a 12-point second-half lead, shot 36 percent from the field and 3 for 18 from 3-point range.
Chris Wright had 15 points, and Monroe had 11 points and nine rebounds for the Hoyas (2-0). Lavoy Allen had 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Owls (1-1), who nearly recovered from an abysmal first half to pull out the win.
No. 20 Louisville 96, Arkansas 66
ST. LOUIS -- Reginald Delk scored 20 points in a reserve role to double his previous career high and sparked key surges in both halves, helping No. 20 Louisville give coach Rick Pitino his 750th career win in its season opener.
No. 22 Clemson 79, Liberty 39
LYNCHBURG, Va. -- David Potter scored a career-high 17 points and hit five of Clemson's 10 3-pointers.
The Tigers (2-0), who needed to rally late last year to beat the Flames at Clemson, had no such issues in the game that began at 10 a.m. They led 17-1 before the Flames made their first field goal -- with 13:02 left in the first half -- and by a wide margin throughout.
No. 23 Illinois 80, Northern Illinois 61
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Brandon Paul scored 20 points in the first half, leading No. 23 Illinois over Northern Illinois. Paul, a freshman guard, had 14 of Illinois' first 21 points. Mike Davis dominated the boards, grabbing 17 rebounds and added 14 points for the Illini (2-0).
No. 25 Maryland 71, Fairfield 42
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Eric Hayes scored 14 points, and No. 25 Maryland celebrated its return to the AP poll with a victory.
Big 10
Duquesne 52, Iowa 50
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Bill Clark's 3-pointer with 11.7 seconds left to help Duquesne beat Iowa in the CBE Classic.
It was the first victory for the Dukes (2-0) over a Big Ten team since they beat Illinois in 1973, and their first victory in 10 tries in a Big Ten arena.
MAC
Ohio 93, North Carolina A&T 82.
ATHENS -- Jay Kinney scored 23 points and Ohio defeated North Carolina A&T.
DeVaughn Washington scored 18 points, D.J. Cooper 15 and Steven Coleman 12 for the Bobcats, who extended their non-conference winning streak to 29 games. Kenneth Van Kempen had 11 rebounds as Ohio outrebounded the Aggies 46-34.
Other
IPFW 86, Madonna 57
FORT WAYNE -- Deilvez Yearby collected 20 points and six rebounds as IPFW cruised. Yearby made 6 of 9 shots. Jeremy Mixon added 14 points for the Mastodons (1-1), who never trailed and led by as many as 42 points against Madonna (0-5), an NAIA Division II school in Livonia, Mich.
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