Muskies fall in double OT to Wildcats; Jackson nets 11
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Greenfield native Dante Jackson tied the Sweet 16 game in Salt Lake City, Utah, against the Kansas State Wildcats late in the second half with his play from beyond the arc.
Jackson's big 3-pointer came with 3:06 left in the second half, knocking down the 3-ball from well beyond the three-point line.
But the end of the game was nowhere near finishing as each team battled, though in the end KSU earned the trip to the Elite 8 with a 101-96 double overtime victory, ending the Musketeers' season.
Terrell Holloway was fouled with 5.0 left in regulation while in the act of shooting a 3-pointer. Holloway answered with three straight free throws. KSU missed the final shot at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime.
In the first OT period, Holloway sank a 3-pointer with just over 2:00 remaining to put XU within one point of tying the game at 78-77.
The Muskies made it a one-point game once again with two free throws from Jordan Crawford, making the score 82-81 with under 90 seconds left in OT.
Holloway tied the game at 84 with a 3-pointer at the .50 mark of OT.
Crawford drained a 3-pointer way beyond the 3-point line to send the game into double OT.
In double OT, XU tied the game at 91 with a jumper from Crawford.
Jackson caught KSU off guard with a quick inbounds pass to Crawford to break the 91-91 tie with 1:13 left in the second overtime period.
Love tied the game at 94 with a free throw with 50.8 for the Muskies, but KSU answered on the ensuing possession with a 3-pointer to take a 97-94 lead.
Jackson had the opportunity to tie the game with seconds left in the second OT period, but the ball bounced off the rim. Jackson finished with 11 points.
Xavier trailed by 15 in the first half when Kansas State went on a 17-0 run until Jackson hit a long range, wide-open 3-pointer with 11:37 left in the half. Right before the 3-ball, the McClain graduate grabbed the offensive rebound off a missed shot attempt by the Musketeers.
At the 9:29 mark of the first half Jackson had a steal.
Jackson, a junior, caught the Wildcats off guard when he took possession of the ball just behind the 3-point line in the top corner, then took the ball down the baseline, and along with a ball fake straight to the hoop for two points.
XU tied the game at 31 with 1:11 left in the opening half and took the lead at 32-31 as the Musketeers ended the first half with a 28-12 run.
With nearly 17 minutes left in the second half, Jackson, who less than a minute earlier grabbed a defensive rebound, had a forceful block in the paint, but KSU was able to grab the offensive board, dishing the ball outside where they sank a 3-ball to extend their lead to four points.
As the Muskies trailed by four, Jackson did what he does best in NCAA play, and brought XU within one-point of tying the Wildcats as he drilled another 3-pointer, forcing KSU to call a timeout with 13:41 left in regulation.
With the score 44-43, Jackson picked up his third foul near the 13:00 mark of the second half, forcing the former McClain standout to the bench. He re-entered the game near the 9:40 mark but picked up his fourth foul with 9:16 remaining.
At the 5:30 mark, XU regained the lead 59-58 with free throws from Andrew Taylor, then again at the 4:32 mark with put back points from Love.
KSU continued to pressure the Musketeers with a falling 3-pointer from Denis Clemente, who added a free throw for a 4-point play with 4:19 left in the second half, putting the Wildcats up three at 64-61.
Xavier ends the year at 26-9.
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