Washington, DC --- The Xavier Muskeeteers, ranked #19 in the USA Today/ESPN Poll and #20 in the AP Poll, used a late surge to run away from George Washington on Tuesday night, 80-68. The win was Xavier’s seventh straight victory and in the process XU’s All-American senior forward David West rewrote some Atlantic 10 Conference history.

Xavier jumped out to an early eight-point, 18-10, lead at the 10:48 mark of the first half. The Colonials battled back, though, and trailed by just a point, 31-30, at halftime.

A trio of Dedrick Finn three-pointers early in the second half helped XU extend its lead to 11 points, 45-34, with 16:41 left in the game. The homestanding Colonials would not go away, though, as they eventually battled back with a 20-8 advantage over the next eight minutes to take the lead at 54-53 with 8:55 left. XU answered with a 9-0 run over the next two minutes to take the lead for good at 62-54 with 6:39 left. By the time the game reached the two-minute mark XU had extended its lead to 15 points, 74-59.

Xavier placed five players in double figures, including a game-high 17 points from senior guard Lionel Chalmers. Chalmers, playing just his second game since breaking a bone in his right foot on December 31, got his points and three assists in just 20 minutes of action. Chalmers, who missed all seven XU games in January, enjoyed his best offensive night since an 18-point game against Miami on December 9.

West grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds tonight, giving him 1,173 for his career, breaking the Atlantic 10 Conference career rebounding record that was previously held by former GW star Mike Brown (1,166 from 1982-85). West also added 13 points, giving him his 15th “double-double” of the season, including his eighth straight and his 11th “double-double” in the last 12 games. West has scored in double figures in 44 straight games and 74 of the last 75 games.

Freshman guard Dedrick Finn (15), junior guard Romain Sato (15) and junior center Anthony Myles (11) also posted double figures in scoring tonight. For Myles it was his eighth straight game in double figures.

GW was led in scoring by senior guard Chris Monroe, who tied Chalmers for game-high scoring honors with 17 points.

Xavier, 16-4 overall and 7-1 in the Atlantic 10 Conference, now sets its sights on a 2:00 p.m. Saturday showdown with A-10 West leader Dayton (7-0 A-10 entering a Wednesday game at Duquesne) at Xavier’s Cintas Center. GW fell to 8-11 overall and 2-6 in the Atlantic 10.

Xavier Musketeers Men's Basketball

Printer-friendly format	Email this article