Sophomore forward Craig Cashen scored 14 points to lead a balanced scoring attack as defending Division I state champion St. Xavier opened its season with a 58-47 victory over Withrow Friday night in the i-wireless Invitational Hoops Classic at Cintas Center.

        St. Xavier is ranked No.3 in The Enquirer's preseason Division I poll, with Withrow at No.4.

        Withrow led 35-29 when Pierre Darden made a layup with 4:18 left in the third quarter. But then St. X got hot.

        The Bombers went on a 13-0 run that was capped by three straight 3-pointers — the same kind of shooting that often marked St. X's success a year ago.

        St. X was the only one of the six teams to play in Friday's Cintas Center tripleheader that shot decently from 3-point range. The Bombers made seven of their 19 attempts, including 4-of-6 shooting from guard Mike Grogan.

        Forward Jordan Cornette, an early signee with Notre Dame, made only six of his 18 shots, but finished with 13 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots.

        Chris Washington led Withrow with 11 points.

        WITHROW (47) - Crawford 2-4 0-0 4, McGuire 4-13 0-0 9, Washington 4-16 3-4 11, Lockhart 2-3 0-0 4, Jeffries0-5 2-2 2, Darden 5-10 0-1 10, Garth 3-6 1-1 7. Totals: 20-57 6-8 47.

        ST. XAVIER (58) - Callahan 3-11 0-0 7, Grogan 4-6 1-2 13, Cornette 6-18 0-0 13, Bast 2-7 0-0 5, Shriver 2-3 0-0 4, Nolan 0-0 2- 2 2, Williams 0-2 0-0 0, Heekin 0-1 0-0 0, Retzinger 0-1 0-0 0, Cashen 7-10 0-0 14. Totals: 24-59 3-4 58.

        Withrow ....... 9  18  10  10—47

        St. Xavier ....... 13  12  19  14—58

        Three-point goals: W 1-12 (Crawford 0-1, McGuire 1-4, Washington 0-4, Jeffries 0-2, Darden 0-1), SX 7-19 (Callahan 1-5, Grogan 4-6, Cornette 1-3, Bast 1-3, Shriver 0-1, Cashen 0-1). Records: W 0-1, SX 1-0.

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