The Xavier University Musketeers, 20-5 overall and 12-2 in the Atlantic 10 Conference, clinched sole possession of the A-10 West Division Championship with an 80-66 victory at Duquesne on Sunday. The win also secured Xavier’s school record sixth straight 20-win season.

“This was a big win for us,” said Xavier head coach Thad Matta. “The 20 wins and A-10 West Championship were two of our goals this season. But we have plenty of goals left to accomplish.”

The Dukes jumped out to an early 11-7 lead after the first seven minutes of action. Xavier’s offense and defense then kicked into gear as XU outscored Duquesne 32-6 over the next nine minutes to take a commanding 39-17 lead with 4:22 left in the first half. DU used an 8-0 spurt at the end of the half to close the halftime deficit to 12 points, 42-30.

Xavier junior forward David West scored 19 of his team-high 25 points in the first half, including 17 of XU’s first 18 points of the game. West’s big first half offset the fact that the Musketeers’ second-leading scorer, sophomore guard Romain Sato, played just seven minutes and was held scoreless in the first half.

Sato picked up in the second half where West left off, scoring 16 second-half points to hold off any thoughts of a successful Duquesne rally.

“David West was spectacular again tonight, especially in the first half,” said Matta. “After getting in foul trouble in the first half, Romain really stepped up big in the second half.”

The Dukes got no closer in the second half than nine points, 54-45, with 12:24 left. XU then reeled off a 19-7 run over the next six minutes to take a 73-52 lead with six minutes left. Shortly after that the Musketeers got a chance to empty the bench.

Sato had the assist on the Lionel Chalmers’ three-pointer that started the decisive 19-7 run and then scored the next eight points of the rally himself.

Xavier also got a big game from senior guard Alvin Brown, who came off the bench to contribute a career-high six assists to go with season-highs of 10 points ands three steals.

“I thought Alvin was one of the big keys to the game for us,” said Matta. “He seized the opportunity and took advantage of it.”

Xavier opens a regular season-ending two-game homestand on Thursday against La Salle at 7:30 p.m. at Cintas Center.