Xavier vs. St. Bonaventure Live Blog

UPDATE 8:48 - With the last media timeout in the books, Xavier is lead 77-48. The only question that remains is whether the Musketeers will set their season-high for points scored. Thanks for tuning in to another edition of the X-Blog!

UPDATE 8:40 - With under eight minutes to play in regulation, XU is comfortably out in front, 68-40. This should give those of you watching at home a chance to get an extended look at players like Kenny Frease, Andrew Taylor and even Redford.

UPDATE 8:27 - Brown just unloaded on a dunk after getting a steal. Even the home fans had to appreciate the hang time and authority of that slam. At the 11:46 mark, the Musketeers are holding steady with a 56-32 lead.

UPDATE 8:17 - At the first media timeout of the second half, the Musketeers are up by 22, 51-29. The Bonnies stormed out of the gate again after the intermission, getting a couple of easy baskets off turnovers, but the Musketeers have settled into their groove once again and appear to withstood th punches of the SBU attack.

UPDATE 7:52 - After calling a timeout to set up the final play of the half, Holloway hit a three-pointer off the dribble to give the Musketeers a 41-22 lead at halftime. XU is leading in nearly every statistical category: Feild goal percentage (51.7 to 30.8), rebounds (21 to 13), and three-point field goal percentage (75 to 20) to name a few. After a slow start, the Musketeers outscored the Bonnies 32-11 over the final 11:54. More after the halftime break!

UPDATE 7:46 - The Muskies have built a 14-point lead, thanks to a 15-6 run, followed by 11 straight points by XU. SBU freshman Michael Davenport broke the streak, although it may have needed a bit of luck. His jumper in the lane kissed off the window and in, but I am not sure he called glass.

UPDATE 7:42 - In the last media timeout of the half, Xavier holds an nine-point advantage, 29-20, thanks in large part to the efforts of Anderson and Redford, who each have nine points. And, while he only has two points, Brown is cleaning the glass, pulling down five of the team's 17 boards thus far.

UPDATE 7:40 - Freshman Brad Redford is showing no ill effects from the split lip he suffered at yesterday's practice. He is 3-of-3 from behind the arc and is tied for the team lead with nine points. His last trey, he caught the ball while nearly falling out of bounds and still got his shot off with the same perfect arc. I can't imagine there are many shooters better than him in the country.

UPDATE 7:30 - Sorry for the delay! Apparently the service that runs our blog was doing maintenance for a few minutes just now. But we are back and the Musketeers have taken the lead, 21-15, with 7:33 to play in the first half. Some SBU fans behind me are discussing what we Xavier fans know as "four-minute wars" or the segments between each media timeout. After SBU won the first one (8-6) and the two teams split the second (3-3), Xavier won the last "war" 12-4 to take the six-point lead.

UPDATE 7:11 - At the first media timeout, SBU has ridden the jump shot of freshman Andrew Nicholson to a 8-6 advantage. Nicholson has earned Rookie of the Week honors in the A-10 four times already, and Miller said he is "probably the Rookie of the Year in the conference" in his interview this morning. While he could certainly add a few pounds of muscles, having a jump shot like his at 6-9 is a tremendous asset.

UPDATE 7:09 - SBU's starting PG, Malcolm Elby just picked up his second foul, hacking freshman Terrell Holloway as he broke their 3/4 court trap. While he isnt one of the Bonnies top scorers, he is their starting PG, and the back up is hurt. We will see if that hurts the Bonnies in their half court set.

UPDATE 7:07 - After getting a shot blocked, Anderson responded with a dunk off the inbounds play to get Xavier on the board to open the game. Through three posessions, the Muskies already have two offensive boards.

UPDATE 7:00 - To call this crowd hostile would be an understatement. They are certainly into tonight's game, and we aren't even past the introductios. The "Wolf Pack" even cheered the national anthem singer with hefty enthusiasm. Since the Musketeers have taken the court for final warmups, the students have also been showering them with less than favorable chants...eliciting smiles and nods from the Musketeer players. Needless to say, motivation for tonight's game will not be hard to come by for either side.

UPDATE 6:40 - The Reilly Center is a classic "appearances can be deceiving" situation. While the look of it is hardly impressive, the fans are pouring and already rowdy. The "Wolf Pack" (the SBU student section) is out in full force and look ready to make their mark on tonight's contest. Xavier head coach Sean Miller said something interesting during this morning's shootaround (you can see the full interview at GoXavier.com), however, stating his hope that the game is decided by the two teams on the floor and not the crowd. He pointed out the Musketeers' experience with adverse situations and also seems very comfortable with the leadership of C.J. Anderon, B.J. Anderson and Derrick Brown.

UPDATE 5:51 - Another edition of the X-Blog coming your way, this time from the Reilly Center at St. Bonaventure University here in Olean, N.Y. The Musketeers are still undefeated in Atlantic 10 play while the Bonnies come in at 2-2 in the league. With tip-off just over an hour away, be sure to check back when the game starts to follow along with the X-Blog. Even if you are watching from home, the X-Blog provides another set of eyes to catch some things the camera might miss!