Baylor outlasts Xavier; Bears run out to big lead but Musketeers never give up

By Shannon Ryan, Chicago Tribune –

ATLANTA — At times, Baylor looked ready to play for the NCAA Tournament championship. At other times, the Bears looked capable of losing to a No. 10 seed.

In the end, third-seeded Baylor did enough to shake off a fight-to-the-finish Xavier squad 75-70 in Friday night’s Sweet 16 matchup at the Georgia Dome. The Bears will advance to their second Elite Eight in three seasons, where on Sunday they will face the winner of the later South Region semifinal game between No. 1 Kentucky and No. 4 Indiana.

Xavier wasn’t easy to dismiss, despite Baylor’s opening 14-2 lead that eventually extended to an 18-point advantage. The Musketeers closed to within three points with only 23 seconds to play, but Baylor hung on thanks to the dominant play of senior forward Quincy Acy.

“They really kept fighting,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “But I am so proud of our upperclassmen. When Xavier made their runs, we answered and never let them get on top.”

Xavier never led but at times seemed to have all the momentum.

After trailing by 13 with a little more than three minutes to play, Xavier made some critical shots. Justin Martin hit a 3-pointer with 1 minute, 21 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 69-63, then Tu Holloway’s deep 3-pointer put the Musketeers within reach 71-68 with only 23 seconds left.

But then Baylor made all of its final six free throws to seal the victory.

Acy scored 20 points and center Perry Jones III added another 14 as part of a comeback game for the frontcourt duo. Acy had scored only 11 points in the first two tournament games, while Jones had scored only nine.

“I want to see his birth certificate,” Xavier coach Chris Mack joked about Acy after the game.