Last season’s 69-67 win was Xavier’s fourth in five tries in the annual steel-cage death match against Cincinnati. Only once before in the 68-game history of the Crosstown Shootout has Xavier enjoyed such a stretch of dominance. The Musketeers also won four of five (and three straight) in the ’80s, but those victories, sweet as they might have been, came against an inferior breed of Bearcat. The current run of success includes wins over UC teams ranked No. 1 (twice) and No. 17. This season’s Shootout on Friday, Dec. 14, will be the first in the Cintas Center, where Romain Sato (below) and the Musketeers will try and add to the victories listed below.

Xavier 69, No. 17 Cincinnati 67 Dec. 14, 2000 Shoemaker Center Lloyd Price stole the ball from Steve Logan and scored on an acrobatic layup to give Xavier a 68-67 lead with 32.2 seconds to play. The Musketeers, who trailed by 15 points in the first half, used a 13-0 run to build a seven-point lead with 4:08 to play. UC rallied to take a two-point lead, setting the stage for Price’s heroics. UC guard Kenny Satterfield missed a floater at the buzzer.

Xavier 66, No. 1 Cincinnati 64 Dec. 18, 1999 Cincinnati Gardens Kevin Frey made two free throws with 29 seconds to play to put Xavier ahead, 64-62. The sophomore then roared past All-American center Kenyon Martin to score again, giving the Musketeers a 66-62 lead with 8.9 seconds to play. Top-ranked UC trailed by as many as 11 points before regaining the lead with 6:07 remaining. The game was also tied with 1:43 to play.

No. 7 Xavier 88, Cincinnati 68 Dec. 13, 1997 Cincinnati Gardens Guards Lenny Brown and Gary Lumpkin scored 23 points each to lead Xavier to its biggest rout of UC since a 26-point bludgeoning in 1957. The Musketeers broke open the game with a 20-1 scoring blitz late in the first half. Trailing by 15 at the half, UC cut the margin to nine points in the first eight minutes of the second half, but an 11-0 run by Xavier ended the threat.

Xavier 71, No. 1 Cincinnati 69 Nov. 26, 1996 Shoemaker Center Lenny Brown’s running one-hander at the buzzer lifted Xavier to the upset of No. 1 UC. Neither team ever led by more than six points. Cincinnati had a 68-63 lead with 1:28 to play, but James Posey scored with six seconds left to tie the game at 69-69. UC then turned the ball over, setting the stage for Brown’s game-winning basket. Brown led all scorers with 19 points.

Photo by Brett Hansbauer