Nov. 20, 2006 Alabama overcame a relentless Xavier team to take a hard-fought championship win in the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam Monday night.
Mykal Riley's 13 points, 10 rebounds and five assists led Alabama to the 63-56 win in a game where the lead changed 10 times.
Alonzo Gee, named MVP of the tournament, added 13 points while Jamareo Davidson had 10 points, 12 rebounds and three rebounds for the No. 10-ranked Crimson Tide.
"For a November game, that was an NCAA tournament-type atmosphere out there," said coach Mark Gottfried.
Alabama led by one, 32-31, at halftime.
"The coach told us just go out with a lot of intensity in the second half, so we just came out and played hard," Gee said.
"We all just played together as a team. It was just fun," Riley said.
Davidson iced his back after the game, a nagging reminder of the car crash a little more than a week ago that killed his girlfriend. He missed the first game of the tournament mourning her on the mainland before joining his team Sunday for a win over Iowa.
Richard Hendrix, who had tape on a cut on his upper cheek after the game, finished with 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and a block.
Alabama outrebounded Xavier 45-36.
"Me, Jamareo, and Alonzo as well, we pride ourselves on pulling rebounds — blue-collar, hard-working stuff," he said.
Josh Duncan had 14 points, nine rebounds and an assist for Xavier. Johnny Wolf added 13 points and three rebounds for the Musketeers, who finished second in the eight-team tournament.
"They wore us down inside," said Xavier coach Sean Miller. "We didn't attack the zone very well. We'll get better at that."
–Villanova 89, Iowa 60–
Villanova finished third in the tournament, beating Iowa 89-60.
Curtis Sumpter had 26 points and two blocks to lead Villanova. Dwayne Anderson added 18 points and two steals, while Mike Nardi had 16 points and three assists.
Adam Haluska scored 18 points for Iowa and Kurt Looby, a native of Antigua, added 13 points and three blocks.
Villanova hit seven of 10 three-point attempts in the second half and nearly 52 percent from beyond the arch for the game.
Iowa finished fourth.
–Toledo 60, Virginia Commonwealth 59–
Florentino Valencia had 21 points and six rebounds to lead Toledo over Virginia Commonwealth. Keonta Howell added 18 points and five rebounds for Toledo.
VCU was led by Jesse Pellot-Rosa, who nailed a three-pointer with 1.7 seconds left to bring the Rams within one. He was bumped while shooting, but no foul was called.
Pellot-Rosa finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. Eric Maynor added 11 points, five rebounds and four assists for VCU.
The Rockets finished fifth place in the tournament. VCU finished sixth.
–College of Charleston 64, Middle Tennessee State 56–
Dontaye Draper scored 31 and grabbed six rebounds to lead College of Charleston over Middle Tennessee State 64-56.
David Lawrence chipped in 14 points and six rebounds for Charleston.
Kyle Young led MTSU with 16 points. Kevin Kanaskie had 12 points and four assists.
Charleston shot just 63 percent from the foul line, making 15 of 24 attempts. MTSU connected on only 4 of 15 three-pointer attempts. Both teams shot a dismal 36 percent in the first half.
Charleston finished seventh in the tournament, MTSU eighth.
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