Xavier knocks off La Salle 68-62

Jan 8, 2010 - 2:34 AM PHILADELPHIA(AP) -- Jordan Crawford scored 22 points to lead Xavier to a 68-62 victory over La Salle on Thursday night in the Atlantic 10 Conference opener for both teams.

Crawford, the Atlantic 10's leading scorer at 19.2 points entering the game, was 6-for-18 from the field, but went 9-for-9 from the line and converted a three-point play to give the Musketeers (9-5) a 66-62 lead with 1:42 to play.

Terrell Holloway's two free throws with 24 seconds left sealed the victory over Xavier, which held La Salle (7-7) scoreless for the final 2:03.

Xavier led 54-34 with 13:10 remaining, but the Explorers went on a 20-2 run to cut the lead to 56-54 on Yves Mekongo's layup with 6:49 left. La Salle tied the score three times in the next 4 minutes, but couldn't pull ahead.

Jason Love added 11 points for Xavier.

Rodney Green scored 20 points, Kimmani Barrett 11 and Mekongo 10 for La Salle.