By Dustin Dow
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Xavier's Anthony Myles slam dunks the ball in the second half. (Steven M. Herppich photo) | ZOOM |

Thad Matta changed his starting lineup, sending a message to Xavier's players that enough is enough.

The Musketeers, who relied heavily on three players the first two games of the season, finally got a complete team effort, routing Florida A&M 93-64 Sunday in front of a sold-out crowd of 10,250 at Cintas Center.

Entering the game, David West, Romain Sato and Lionel Chalmers had scored 72 percent of Xavier's points and recorded more than half its rebounds. But Sunday, five players scored in double figures and eight players scored.

With Dedrick Finn and Will Caudle making their first starts, the Musketeers (2-1) had little trouble with Florida A&M's man or zone defenses. Xavier shot 47 percent from the field, including 60 percent in the first half.

West, Sato and Chalmers still led Xavier in scoring. The difference was that Sato, who finished with 16 points, didn't even score until 48 seconds remained in the first half. It didn't matter because four Musketeers had seven or more points at halftime.

Compare that to Wednesday's Preseason NIT loss to Stanford, when no player besides the Big Three had more than three points the entire game.

Xavier's David West blocks a pass by Florida A&M's Michael Griffith. (Steven M. Herppich photo) | ZOOM |

Finn, a true freshman, started in place of senior Dave Young, who had started 32 of the last 34 games. Finn scored six points, had seven assists and grabbed six rebounds.

"I don't really know if I've got that spot for sure," Finn said. "It's a confidence boost, and it feels good to be able to start, but I've got to keep working hard to keep that position."

With nine days of practice before the Muskies face Purdue on Dec.3, there's no guarantee that Finn or Caudle will start.

"I don't know who's going to start the next game," Matta said, "but I want to watch our guys go at it. We're searching for getting guys to play their best basketball."

Caudle replaced center Anthony Myles and promptly scored seven points in the first four minutes. Foul trouble, however, limited him to 15 minutes.

Florida A&M guard Demarcus Wilkins shoots against Xavier defender Romain Sato. (Steven M. Herppich photo) | ZOOM |

Myles and Young responded to their benchings by each scoring 10 points and grabbing three rebounds. Keith Jackson also produced off the bench, scoring a career-high nine points.

"The bench needed to be more active when it came in the game," Jackson said.

Dominique Jackson's 20 points led the Rattlers. Already short two players because of discipline reasons, Florida A&M lost starting guard Moses White to a leg injury in the first half.

HOT SHOOTING: As good as Xavier shot from the field, the Musketeers were even better from the free-throw line, where they made 23 of 27 foul shots (85 percent).

BIG POINTS: Xavier's 93 points were the most since the Musketeers defeated Long Island 108-57 on Dec.8, 2001.

STRONG ON THE GLASS: Xavier won the rebounding battle, snaring 50 boards to Florida A&M's 23.

Florida A&M	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
Griffith	32	4	11	0	0	3	1	5	2	9
Ayodele	23	2	8	0	0	0	1	3	1	5
Hill	24	2	6	2	4	3	0	2	3	6
White	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Wilkins	32	5	7	2	2	3	3	1	4	14
Jackson	28	7	11	2	2	1	1	3	5	20
Henderson	7	0	3	0	0	2	0	1	0	0
Kelly	20	3	6	0	0	2	1	0	0	7
Zamore	8	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	1	0
Cisse	14	0	3	2	2	1	2	2	2	2
Sumter	11	0	2	1	2	4	0	2	2	1
Totals	200	23	57	9	12	23	9	19	21	64

Team rebounds: 2

Xavier	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
Finn	27	1	2	4	5	6	7	2	4	6
West	32	5	12	9	10	12	4	1	4	19
Caudle	15	3	5	1	1	2	0	3	2	7
Chalmers	28	5	8	3	4	0	6	0	1	16
Sato	29	6	12	3	3	12	2	1	3	16
Smith	10	0	3	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Young	12	3	6	2	2	3	0	2	1	10
Coleman	6	0	0	0	0	3	0	2	1	0
Myles	17	5	8	0	1	3	0	0	1	10
Jackson	15	4	6	1	1	3	1	1	1	9
Christiansen	3	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	0
Caldwell	4	0	3	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Compton	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals	200	32	68	23	27	50	20	12	19	93

Team rebounds: 2

Florida A&M	24	40	-64
Xavier	49	44	-93

Attendance-10,250. 3-point goals-Florida A&M 9-25 (Griffith 1-4, Ayodele 1-7, Wilkins 2-4, Jackson 4-7, Henderson 0-2, Kelly 1-1); XU 6-20 (West 0-1, Chalmers 3-5, Sato 1-7, Young 2-4, Caldwell 0-2, Compton 0-1). Technical fouls-None. Officials-Sanders, Turner, Larocca.