• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Jackson, Duquesne shock Xavier

Feb 8, 2009 - 6:31 AM PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- A big first half led to a huge victory for Duquesne.

Aaron Jackson scored 12 of his 21 points before halftime as Duquesne used a dominant first half to help stun ninth-ranked Xavier, 72-68, on Saturday.

Bill Clark had 18 points and Melquan Bolding added 12 and seven rebounds for the Dukes (15-7, 6-3 A-10), who claimed their first win over a team in the top 10 since 1992. They also toppled a ranked opponent for the first time in 12 years.

"Obviously, this is a very big win for our basketball program, and it was one the guys deserved," Duquesne coach Ron Everhart told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

"This was a big win for us," Jackson told the Post-Gazette. "This put Duquesne basketball back on the map."

Although it was coming off a loss at Saint Louis, Duquesne got off to a great start behind Jackson, who scored six points as his team built a 20-7 lead 6 1/2 minutes in.

Xavier did close within four points with 5:13 left, but the Dukes closed the first half on a 13-2 run to hold a 45-30 advantage at the break. Clark hit a pair of 3-pointers during that burst.

The late run wrapped up a half that saw Duquesne shoot an eye-popping 81 percent (17-of-21), including 8-of-11 on 3-pointers. Clark went 4-of-4 from the arc while Bolding and Damian Saunders both went 2-of-3.

"They shot 81 percent in the first half and scored 45 points," Xavier coach Sean Miller told the newspaper. "They were shooting at an impossible rate for us even to catch up."

"I've never even heard of it, but we'll take it," said Everhart when asked about his team's first-half shooting.

Duquesne remained in control until Xavier made a late charge, pulling within 69-66 on a 3-pointer by freshman Terrell Holloway with 15 seconds left. Jackson came back with two free throws six seconds later before Holloway took an inbounds pass and streaked in for a layup that made it 71-68 with 3.2 seconds left.

However, Clark converted the first of two free throws before missing the second. Still, the sophomore swingman was able to tip the rebound up in the air twice while battling with Xavier players to ensure that the clock wound down.

"We played well, but they sure didn't let us off the hook," Everhart told the paper.

B.J. Raymond had 18 points for the Musketeers (20-2, 8-1), who had an 11-game winning streak snapped.

Holloway finished with 16 points and Derrick Brown added 12 and seven rebounds for Xavier, which shot 43 percent (23-of-53) in losing to Duquesne for the first time since January 25, 1997.