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Xavier, led by Byron Larkin's 29 points, pulled the...

By JIM SLATER, UPI Sports Writer

INDIANAPOLIS -- Xavier, led by Byron Larkin's 29 points, pulled the first upset of the NCAA Tournament Thursday by eliminating No. 14 Missouri 70-69.

'Our kids really kept their composure down the stretch,' Xavier Coach Pete Gillen said after beating the Big Eight champions in the opening round of the Midwest Regional. 'The reason we won the game is because the kids believed in themselves. We bent but we didn't break.'

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Missouri Coach Norm Stewart blamed his team's lackluster play on the draining effort needed to win the conference tournament.

'We were flat,' hesaid. 'Our legs were dead. The thing I hoped wouldn't happen did happen - we left part of ourselves in Kansas City. We were like a 3-week-old open beer. We were just flat.'

The taller Tigers were outrebounded 44-29 and Xavier used its outside shooting and quickness to contain Missouri in the second half.

'Our kids were aggressive on the boards,' Gillen said. 'We knew we would have to shoot free throws and rebound well if we were to have a chance. It's a credit to our players to outrebound Missouri.'

Larkin made two free throws with 31 seconds to play to give the Musketeers a 70-66 lead. Missouri's Lynn Hardy made a 3-point shot with 14 seconds to play, but Xavier ran out the final frantic seconds.

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Xavier, 19-12, advanced to the second round Saturday against Duke at the Hoosier Dome. Duke beat Texas A&M 58-51 in the other first-round game.

Missouri, 24-10, lost its nine-game winning streak. Hardy scored 20 points to lead Missouri while swingman Derick Chievous added 16.

Xavier's Stan Kimbrough, who scored 14 points, made the first 5 points of the second half as the Musketeers took their largest lead at 41-32 with 17:23 remaining. With the score 43-34, Missouri guard Lynn Hardy scored 7 straight points to start an 11-2 run that tied it 45-45 with 10:15 to play.

Xavier led 50-48 with 7:40 remaining when Larkin began a string of 8 straight Xavier points during a 12-6 spurt that put the Musketeers ahead 62-54 with 4:46 to play. Missouri rallied again in the final minutes, setting the stage for the hectic finish.

Larkin scored 10 first-half points and Dexter Campbell added 9 of his 13 total points to boost Xavier to a 36-32 halftime lead. Xavier hit 15 of 19 first-half free throws and outrebounded the Tigers 24-9 in the first half.

The Musketeers went on a 13-2 run late in the first half to lead 32-26 lead. Two Larkin free throws with 5:28 to play in the half gave Xavier its first lead at 25-24. A basket by Tyrone Hill 38 seconds later put Xavier ahead 27-26 and Missouri never led again.

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