Musketeers hold on in final seconds to reach Sweet 16
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Being described as a difference maker for the Xavier Musketeers on the CBS telecast Sunday evening, junior guard Dante Jackson, once again, made his presence felt in the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year.
Jackson and his Xavier teammates moved on the the Sweet 16, defeating the Pittsburgh Panthers in a game which came down to the final shot attempt, with a 71-68 victory. This will be Jackson's third straight trip to the Sweet 16.
Pittsburgh missed the final 3-point attempt with 0.4 remaining on the clock in their chance to tie the game.
Not only was Jackson shooting well from the field in the first half, but the Greenfield native was playing his usual, suffocating defense against West Region No. 3 seed Panthers in the second round of the NCAA tourney in Milwaukee, WI.
Jackson finished with nine points, all scored in the first half. He also grabbed three rebounds in 40 minutes on the court.
The McClain grad was on fire from the three-point line in the first half as he sank three 3-pointers for the Musketeers, two coming during a 16-0 run in the half.
Jackson's first 3-ball came with 16:26 left in the first half to bring XU within two points of tying the game, as Terrell Hollaway dished the ball out to Jackson for the assist.
The XU junior then found his rhythm from beyond the arc for six more points.
The second 3-pointer by Jackson came at the 6:32 mark of the first half to make the score 25-18. Jackson then put the No. 6 seeded Musketeers up 10 points (28-18) with 5:16 left in the opening 20 minute half with his third 3-pointer.
Jackson made a heads-up play with 2:52 left in the first half as he called time out, while near the out of bounds line. Jackson was off-balanced due to the fact he grabbed an offensive rebound while in the path of the official.
Jackson shot 3 of 5 from the field in the first half and 3 of 6 for the game. In the opening half, the XU guard had two rebounds, one assist and one steal.
The Musketeers led 35-28 at halftime.
In the second half, Jackson made another heads-up play, this time on defense.
With 16:28 left in the game, the defensive standout stripped the ball out of a Pittsburgh player's hands on a fast break, knocking away an easy two points by Panthers.
Jackson missed the final two free throw attempts with seconds remaining.
XU improves to 26-8 overall and will face No. 2 seeded Kansas State Thursday, March 25 in Salt Lake City, UT in the round of 16 at 9:37 p.m.
Kansas State defeated BYU 84-72 Sunday in the second round. In the first round, KSU defeated North Texas 86-62.[[In-content Ad]]
Jackson and his Xavier teammates moved on the the Sweet 16, defeating the Pittsburgh Panthers in a game which came down to the final shot attempt, with a 71-68 victory. This will be Jackson's third straight trip to the Sweet 16.
Pittsburgh missed the final 3-point attempt with 0.4 remaining on the clock in their chance to tie the game.
Not only was Jackson shooting well from the field in the first half, but the Greenfield native was playing his usual, suffocating defense against West Region No. 3 seed Panthers in the second round of the NCAA tourney in Milwaukee, WI.
Jackson finished with nine points, all scored in the first half. He also grabbed three rebounds in 40 minutes on the court.
The McClain grad was on fire from the three-point line in the first half as he sank three 3-pointers for the Musketeers, two coming during a 16-0 run in the half.
Jackson's first 3-ball came with 16:26 left in the first half to bring XU within two points of tying the game, as Terrell Hollaway dished the ball out to Jackson for the assist.
The XU junior then found his rhythm from beyond the arc for six more points.
The second 3-pointer by Jackson came at the 6:32 mark of the first half to make the score 25-18. Jackson then put the No. 6 seeded Musketeers up 10 points (28-18) with 5:16 left in the opening 20 minute half with his third 3-pointer.
Jackson made a heads-up play with 2:52 left in the first half as he called time out, while near the out of bounds line. Jackson was off-balanced due to the fact he grabbed an offensive rebound while in the path of the official.
Jackson shot 3 of 5 from the field in the first half and 3 of 6 for the game. In the opening half, the XU guard had two rebounds, one assist and one steal.
The Musketeers led 35-28 at halftime.
In the second half, Jackson made another heads-up play, this time on defense.
With 16:28 left in the game, the defensive standout stripped the ball out of a Pittsburgh player's hands on a fast break, knocking away an easy two points by Panthers.
Jackson missed the final two free throw attempts with seconds remaining.
XU improves to 26-8 overall and will face No. 2 seeded Kansas State Thursday, March 25 in Salt Lake City, UT in the round of 16 at 9:37 p.m.
Kansas State defeated BYU 84-72 Sunday in the second round. In the first round, KSU defeated North Texas 86-62.[[In-content Ad]]