Xavier shocks Bulldogs

Posted 4:58PM on Sunday 21st March 2004 ( 21 years ago )

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - Lionel Chalmers scored a career-high 31 points and Dedrick Finn added 22 Sunday, helping seventh-seeded Xavier upset Southeastern Conference regular-season champion Mississippi State 89-74 to reach the semifinals of the Atlanta Regional. Finn's shot from beyond midcourt put Xavier (25-10) ahead for good at the first-half buzzer. Chalmers, Anthony Myles and Romain Sato made sure the second-seeded Bulldogs never led again. Xavier, which has won 15 of 16 games after a 10-9 start, advanced beyond the second round for the first time since 1990. The Atlantic 10 Conference tournament champs will face No. 3 seed Texas in the regional semifinals. Chalmers made 11 of 13 shots, including all four of his 3-point attempts. Finn was 5-of-7 from beyond the arc, while Sato - the Musketeers' leading scorer during the regular season - scored 12 and Myles finished with 14 rebounds. Mississippi State (26-4) shot 36 percent and lost control of the game after building a 23-13 lead in the first 11 minutes. Xavier finished the half with a 21-10 run with Chalmers scoring 12 in that stretch. Shane Power led Mississippi State with 16 points. Timmy Bowers had 15, while SEC player of the year Lawrence Roberts was limited to 11 on 4-for-11 shooting. Xavier's late-season surge included a 20-point blowout of then top-ranked Saint Joseph's, while Mississippi State earned its No. 2 seeding based on winning its first outright SEC regular season title in 41 years. Sato was held to a season-low seven points in Xavier's 82-70 regular-season loss to Mississippi State three months ago, and the 6-foot-5 guard only scored six in a December 2002 loss to the Bulldogs at Madison Square Garden. A key element of Mississippi State's game plan again was containing Sato. But in doing that, the Bulldogs were unable to keep up with the lightning-quick Chalmers, who repeatedly knifed his way through the defense to score or set up opportunities for teammates. The 6-foot point guard was equally effective from the perimeter, finishing 6-of-7 from the field and making a pair of 3-pointers over taller defenders during the first-half run that got the Musketeers back into the game. Finn's buzzer-beater put Xavier ahead 34-33 at the half and set the tone for the rest of the game. The Musketeers returned from the locker room to gradually build the lead with 10 on Justin Doellman's 3-pointer with just under nine minutes to go. Six minutes later, Finn's long 3 - his fifth of the game - made it 75-63 and took the last bit of fight out of the Bulldogs.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2004/3/161762