Hempstead's Holloway almost rescues Xavier

ATLANTA -- The other nine players already were headed to the other end, but Tu Holloway lingered at the free-throw line, bent over and stared at the floor -- and at the end of his collegiate career.

There were 33 seconds left in Friday night's NCAA South Regional semifinal against Baylor, and the Xavier senior from Hempstead had just missed the front end of a crucial one-and-one, stalling a furious late rally.

Holloway went on to score seven points in the final half-minute, but he and his team never quite recovered. Third-seeded Baylor (30-7) earned a 75-70 victory over 10th-seeded Xavier (23-13) to advance to Sunday's regional final against the winner of the Indiana-Kentucky game late Friday night.

Baylor, playing in its greenish-yellow Day-Glo duds, seemed to be in control with a 69-57 lead, but Xavier scored six quick points, starting with a three-point play by Holloway, and it was 69-63.

As the final minute bled away, Holloway was fouled and went to the line. The ball bounced off the rim, Baylor rebounded, Quincy Acy was fouled, and he made both ends of the one-and-one.

It still wasn't over, thanks in part to Holloway -- an 86-percent free-throw shooter, by the way -- not allowing the big miss to alter his focus.

"I knew I had to continue to make plays for my team," he said. "I had to have the 'next play' mentality. I missed the free throw, but there was a lot of game left, and I tried to make the most of it."

Holloway's three-pointer with 23 seconds left made it 71-68, the closest Xavier had been since falling behind 22-4. But Brady Heslip, a 95-percent free-throw shooter, made four in a row down the stretch to keep the Musketeers at bay.

After one of Heslip's makes, a fan in the Baylor section cruelly shouted, "Holloway, that's how you make a free throw!''

Holloway, who led Xavier with 22 points, was 9-for-10 from the line. Kenny Frease had 18 points and Mark Lyons 16.

For Baylor, Acy had 20 points -- many of them on dunks that helped his 8-for-11 shooting -- and 15 rebounds. (Xavier coach Chris Mack jokingly said he would like to see Acy's birth certificate.) Pierre Jackson had 16 points and 10 assists.

Baylor initially looked as if it would run Xavier out of the gym, charging to a 22-4 lead not quite eight minutes into the game. The Bears still led 33-16 later in the first half but Xavier stormed back, scoring 13 in a row.

Xavier kept the margin manageable for most of the second half but missed its chances to erase the gap altogether. Then it looked over at 69-57. Then it didn't. Then it was, and with it, Holloway's days as a collegian.

"I'm very disappointed; this is the furthest I've gotten, the Sweet 16,'' he said. "I told the guys in the locker room I'm really happy. After everything we've been through this season, everyone counted us out. People said we weren't going to make the tournament, and we made it here."