Xavier's David West had 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting. (Mike Simons photos) | ZOOM |

        On a day Xavier set a single-game school record for fewest turnovers, it wasn't just the basketball on which it had a handle.

        There was the Atlantic 10's best overall record, which XU earned outright Saturday with its 72-52 victory over Massachusetts. There was the national exposure on ESPN, which could pay off in another national ranking. And there was an uninhibited celebration, complete with a last-minute basket by graduating walk-on James Baronas and the cutting down of a Cintas Center net.

        “We wanted to make sure we finished this thing out with a bang,” junior center David West said. “We've done what we wanted to as far as ... establishing ourselves as the best team in the conference.”

        XU finishes the regular season 22-5. Its 14-2 A-10 mark is its best ever, matching the best by any A-10 team over the past six seasons. XU won 17 of its last 19 games.

Lionel Chalmers had a strong all-around game. | ZOOM |

        “It hasn't been easy,” coach Thad Matta said. “We've gone through some ups and downs this year. The main thing was keeping our focus of what we were trying to do. And this is where we wanted to be.”

        The Musketeers, ranked 24th in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll, are poised to enter the Associated Press rankings for the first time this season. They were third among those “also receiving votes” last week.

        “People have asked us about respect, and I've said, "I don't care, we want to be ranked at the end,'” Matta said. “And the season's over, and we finished ranked.”

        The victory Saturday was as efficient as any XU has ever had. The Musketeers committed just three turnovers and held UMass (12-15, 6-10 A-10) to 21.4 percent shooting in the second half (6-of-28).

        Junior point guard Lionel Chalmers totaled 13 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals with just one turnover.

Romain Sato had his third double-double of the season. | ZOOM |

        “We executed pretty good,” Chalmers said. “We got the ball where we needed to get it, and we got shots. We've just got to continue to take care of the ball.”

        West led all scorers with 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Late in the game, and again when he cut down the net, he was serenaded with chants of “One more year” from fans hoping he won't turn pro this spring.

        “I wasn't really paying attention to that,” West said. “I was kind of stuck in the moment.”

        Romain Sato had his third double-double of the season and fifth of his career with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

        The unsung hero was freshman reserve Anthony Coleman, who totaled six points, two rebounds and an assist in a career-high 18 minutes. That was his second-highest scoring game of his career. He had totaled just 48 minutes in XU's 15 previous A-10 games.

Anthony Coleman. | ZOOM |

        “He played big,” West said. “I don't think anyone expected that. We wouldn't have won the game without him.”

        The 6-foot-10 Coleman spelled West and Kevin Frey, who was in foul trouble. He made numerous athletic plays and altered several shots.

        “It's coming,” Coleman said. “I'm getting a lot more confidence in myself. Today was a great feeling. I wasn't thinking, I was just playing, just doing what I do in practice.”

        Now in safe range for an NCAA Tournament bid, XU could afford to celebrate a bit Saturday before looking ahead to the A-10 Tournament.

        “It feels good to know we worked hard and now this is what it is,” Chalmers said. “It's great to accomplish a goal that you set.”

Box Score

MASSACHUSETTS (52)


                          fg    ft    rb             
                   min   m-a   m-a   o-t   a  pf   tp
M Brand             33   3-9   2-4   1-7   3   1    8
R Lamb              21   2-4   0-0   2-2   0   3    4
K Rhymer            19   2-3   1-4   1-2   2   3    5
A Anderson          20   0-9   0-0   0-4   4   2    0
S Crooks            36  4-16   2-2   0-4   2   2   12
B Martin             9   0-0   0-0   1-1   0   1    0
W Jenkins            2   0-1   0-0   0-1   0   0    0
R Blizzard          15   1-1   0-0   1-1   0   3    2
K Wilson            22   2-3   2-2   0-1   1   2    6
E Williams          23   5-8   2-3   2-5   2   1   15


_____________________________________________________
TOTALS             200 19-54  9-15  8-28  14  18   52
_____________________________________________________


Percentages: FG-.352, FT-.600. 3-Point Goals:
5-20, .250 (M Brand 0-2, A Anderson 0-7, S 
Crooks 2-6, W Jenkins 0-1, E Williams 3-4). 
Team Rebounds: 4. Blocked Shots: 1 (K 
Rhymer). Turnovers: 7 (E Williams 2, A 
Anderson 2, M Brand, K Wilson, K Rhymer). 
Steals: 2 (E Williams, A Anderson).


XAVIER (72)


                          fg    ft    rb             
                   min   m-a   m-a   o-t   a  pf   tp
K Frey              25   3-7   0-0   1-3   1   4    6
D Young             28   2-6   4-6   1-5   0   1    8
D West              35  9-13   4-4   1-6   1   3   22
L Chalmers          36   4-8   3-4   0-5   6   1   13
R Sato              36   3-9  5-10  1-11   2   2   13
J Williams           4   0-1   0-0   0-0   1   1    0
A Coleman           14   2-3   2-2   1-2   1   2    6
A Brown             14   0-3   0-0   0-1   0   0    0
K Jackson            4   1-2   0-0   1-1   0   0    2
J Baronas            4   1-1   0-0   0-1   0   0    2

_____________________________________________________
TOTALS             200 25-53 18-26  6-35  12  14   72
_____________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.472, FT-.692. 3-Point Goals:
4-12, .333 (L Chalmers 2-4, R Sato 2-6, J 
Williams 0-1, A Brown 0-1). Team Rebounds: 2.
Blocked Shots: 2 (R Sato, D West). Turnovers:
3 (R Sato 2, L Chalmers). Steals: 5 (L 
Chalmers 3, D Young, J Williams).

-----------------------------------
MASSACHUSETTS        32  20   -  52
XAVIER               38  34   -  72
----------------------------------- 

Technical fouls: None. A: 10,250. 

       

---

Xavier Stories

XU beats UMass, wins A-10 XU notebook

A season inside the Bengals
Bengals' QB pool gets smaller
Football, faith and Florence
Bengals Q & A with Mark Curnutte
Bears re-sign QB Miller
Don't worry, we're happy, Reds assert
Jr. one slugger who values health over homers
Reds Q & A with John Fay
Reitsma fastball showing some pop
Rangers 4, Reds 3
Reds notebook
Baseball notebook
Cowboys make big splash at state swim meet
An unsung player saves McNicholas
Mercy gives coach 499th career win
St. Ursula earns Beavercreek rematch
Purcell gets half-court buzzer-beater
Undersized MND ousted
Dixie girls cruise to 34th District title
Lakota West 7th in state gymnastics
NewCath edges past Highlands
Regionals rev up this week
Ohio boys basketball scores
Ohio girls basketball results
Kentucky boys basketball scores
Kentucky girls basketball scores
Wrestling: Division I
Wrestling: Divisions II-III
Regional Schedule
Hungry cats set for battle
Logan is expecting an emotional finale
Battle won, but Smith loses war
Basketball brothers sharing dream
Buckeyes claim share of Big 10 title
Indiana wins share of Big Ten
Miami comes up short
OSU's Arden arrested for driving under influence
Top 25 roundup
Wildcats nail down SEC bye
Women: Waugh keys Xavier upset
Ducks win 4-2
Enquirer Page Two power rankings
Request for Parole wins Battaglia Memorial
Cavaliers can't contain Kukoc
Hospitalized Buck suffers setback
Pens' Lemieux: I shall return next season
Role reversal for Els at Doral
Stewart tries to rebound after Daytona
Coming up this week

• Return to Xavier front page...