Xavier vs. Pitt 2009 NCAA Tournament East Regional Semifinal

Here we are in the very impressive TD Banknorth Gardens, home of the 2008 NBA World Champion Boston Celtics, for No. 4 seeded Xavier's 2009 NCAA Tournament East Regional Semifinal match-up versus No. 1-seeded Pitt. Strangely enough, the Celtics' banners have been removed from the rafters for the games this weekend. The national anthem was just played and the teams headed back to the locker rooms. We'll check back in once the game has started!

7:40 p.m. - There are still several empty seats ... those coming for the second game tonight have decided not to take advantage of the doubleheader. Xavier's five-point lead has come courtesy of two free throws from Kenny "The Ogre" Frease and a three from Dante Jackson.

7:50 p.m. - Jason Love reentered the game and is now playing with two fouls but he continues to crash the boards. The Musketeers know they need to get Pitt center DeJuan Blair into foul trouble and Love has put one on him. XU currently holds a 13-9 rebounding margin over Pitt - another point of emphasis in this game for the Musketeers.

7:58 p.m. - A 4-0 run by Xavier was capped off by a dunk from Frease. On the other end a Pitt turnover turned into XU points as Derrick Brown showed his athleticism with a dunk of his own. As if on replay, Pitt turned over again and guess what??? A dunk - this time from Jamel McLean. With that 11-3 run, Pitt is forced into calling timeout and XU fans erupted. Xavier now has nine offensive rebounds to Pitt's six but neither team is shooting the ball well as Pitt is at 36% and Xavier is at 35%.

8:10 p.m. - It was Pitt's turn to go on a run out of the last media break, cutting the XU lead to one, 25-24, and then tying the game with the front end of a one-and-one. Coach Miller continues to yell out plays, tapping his head and making signs with his hands. CJ Anderson made his way to the basket, giving XU the lead back at 27-25, his first points since scoring XU's first two on made free throws. The arena is slowly but surely filling up.

Halftime (8:22 p.m.) - Derrick Brown has shown his versatility in the first half. After slamming home a monstorous dunk his next baskets came from behind the arc - he leads XU with 10. There was a little scuffle at the end of the half as a Pitt player ended up on the floor and then "accidentally" tripped up Frease, causing him to fall as well. It seemed as if the incident was squashed until Pitt's Levance Fields came over to add his two cents. The XU players were turned away and headed into the locker room with the eight-point, 37-29, halftime lead. Andy Katz is making a cameo tonight (standing almost directly behind me!). I wonder, did he pick Xavier or Pitt? And I also just saw Bill Murray across the way - he's sitting in the Xavier section!

8:50 p.m. - The Panthers opened the half with a 6-0 run, slicing the Xavier lead to only two, 37-35. Coach Miller called a TO to regroup the troops and most of the Xavier faithful remain on their feet, hoping to kick start the XU offense. Turnovers have resulted in several Pitt points so far this half. At the first media break, we're tied at 37-all.

8:58 p.m. - Pitt took back the lead, 38-37, for the first time since leading 16-14 with just over 11 minutes remaining in the first half. The frustration seems to be showing as a Musketeer who just returned to the bench threw his water bottle to the opposite end of the bench. XU finally put up some points with a jumper from Derrick Brown at the 13:39 mark. The two squads have traded the lead back and forth but XU holds the 41-40 advantage at the under 12 media.

9:10 p.m. - Levance Fields had to come out of the game for blood on his jersey as he was elbowed by a teammate who came down with a tough rebound. Father Graham stood up to lead the Xavier fans in the X-A-V-IER chant during a timeout. The XU coaches' wives are sitting directly across from me along with Mr. Miller and all look distraught over Dante Jackson picking up his fourth foul.

9:23 p.m. - Seems like we have some unhappy Pitt fans - a couple of guys are heckling the ref standing at the scorer's table. Derrick Brown narrowly got of a shot before the shot clock expired on X's last possession. Out of the media, Pitt was forced into calling timeout instead of turning over the ball on a five-second count. Both teams have only one TO left. Brad Redford just hit his first shot of the night, a clutch three to pull XU to within two, 52-50. Raymond's at the line after the media break.

Pitt 60, Xavier 55 (9:37 p.m.) - Too late baskets from Pitt's Levance Fields gave the Panthers a 57-54 lead with 23.9 seconds left and the Musketeers would not recover. Coach Miller took out his two seniors in order to give the fans a chance to thank them for their hard work.