Nov. 10, 2007

Final Stats |  Photo Gallery 1  |  Photo Gallery 2 

Box Score |  Photo Gallery 1  |  Notes and Quotes
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CINCINNATI - Senior forward Josh Duncan led a dynamic Musketeer attack with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting as the Xavier University men's basketball team annihilated Southeast Missouri State by a 90-59 score on Saturday evening at a sold-out Cintas Center in Cincinnati.  The contest was the season opener for both squads. 

The sellout (10,250) marked Xavier's first in a season opener since the 2001-02 season.   

Duncan was 4-of-5 from long range and he also pulled down eight rebounds, dished-out three assists and blocked two shots. 

Sophomore forward Derrick Brown added a career-high 15 points to go along with seven rebounds in 27 minutes of action.  Junior B.J. Raymond came off the bench to score 15 points and tied a career best with four 3-pointers.  Raymond also snared eight rebounds for XU.  Junior forward C.J. Anderson scored 13 points and was one carom shy of a double-double.  Anderson also added three assists and four of his rebounds came on the offensive glass. 

Xavier's highly-touted backcourt of seniors Drew Lavender and Stanley Burrell combined for 25 points to go along with 12 assists against only one turnover.  Burrell was the fifth Musketeer in double-figures with 14 points and he tied a career best by dropping seven dimes without committing a single turnover. 

XU dominated throughout the contest but SEMO used an 8-0 run midway through the second half to pull to within 22 points.  Xavier would answer though and mounted a 24-10 run to take its largest lead of the game, 90-54 with 3:20 to go, on a Charles Bronson turnaround jumper.

Xavier dominated the boards on Saturday, ending the showdown with a 54-to-36 rebounding advantage and a 26-to-11 edge in second chance points. 

The Musketeers were extremely opportunistic off of SEMO's 20 turnovers, converting the miscues into 32 points.  Conversely, XU turned the ball over only 10 times and held a convincing 32-to-6 advantage in points off turnovers.     

Roderick Pearson led the way for SEMO with 13 points.  

The Musketeers pounced on SEMO in the early stages of the game and jumped out to a 10-0 lead when Burrell buried a 3-pointer at the 17:25 mark.  The early spurt was keyed by a pair of 3-pointers from Duncan and included another scintillating fast-break dunk that brought the crowd of 10,250 to its feet. 

XU would stretch the lead out to 22 points, 44-22, on another dunk by Brown at 3:14 and led 46-30 at the break. 

The Musketeers will be back in action when they travel to Miami (Ohio) to take on the RedHawks.  Game time is set for 8 p.m. and the contest will be televised regionally on FSN Ohio.