Xavier began the 2011-12 regular season with an onslaught of national attention.
Freshman Dezmine Wells started in the first regular season game of his collegiate career and performed above and beyond expectations.
Wells recorded 12 points, four boards and two assists. Two of the guard’s points came from a SportsCenter-worthy dunk off an alley-oop.
Wells’ play, assisted by Mark Lyons, earned him the No. 2 spot on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays.
The freshman suffered from leg cramps periodically, something he attributes to the intensity of his first collegiate game.
Along with Wells, Xavier saw a strong performance from junior guard Mark Lyons.
In the absence of senior point guard Tu Holloway, Lyons took over as point guard for the Musketeers.
While Xavier got off to a rocky start early in the first half, Lyons stepped in as the team’s leader, finishing with 22 points, six assists, seven rebounds and three steals.
In combination with these results, the junior recorded only one turnover in his 37 minutes of play.
In contrast to the strong performance of Xavier’s backcourt, the Musketeer’s saw a less-than-stellar performance from senior center Kenny Frease and redshirt junior, forward Travis Taylor. While Frease was third in scoring for Xavier with 10 points, the 7-footer recorded three turnovers and only five rebounds.
Frease also played only 21 minutes, fouling out with 4:21 remaining in the game.
Taylor went 0-3 shooting, 2-4 from the line and recorded only four rebounds.
This game is Taylor’s first, after sitting out for a year due to transfer regulations.
Cintas Center saw the return of redshirt junior, guard Brad Redford’s legendary three-point shooting in the second half.
After missing his first attempt, Redford scored his first three-pointer after injury with 7:47 remaining.
He then returned with another three-pointer 30 seconds later, giving him six points in his 11 minutes of play.
Wells and Lyons were both named to the Atlantic 10 Honor Roll for the week.
The Musketeers also moved up a spot in the rankings, advancing to 13th in the AP Poll and 14th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll.