By Dustin Dow
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Richmond's Johnathan Collins, center, battles with Xavier's David West (30), Romain Sato (10) and Keith Jackson, top, for a rebound. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

RICHMOND, Va. - Xavier's Atlantic 10 strength is beginning to show as the Musketeers completed another impressive win Saturday, extending a conference winning streak that has reached six games.

In beating Richmond 66-52 on the road, Xavier (15-4, 6-1) atoned for its only A-10 loss. The Musketeers have a chance to play for first place in the A-10 next week. After a road game Tuesday at George Washington, Xavier hosts A-10 leader Dayton next Saturday at Cintas Center.

Since losing 67-59 Jan. 7 to Richmond, Xavier has won all of its games by at least 13 points and is beating teams by an average of 21 points during the six-game streak. The Musketeers have won their last two games, both on the road, by 14 points. The stretch of wins sparks memories of last season, when Xavier won its first nine A-10 games and finished 14-2 to win the regular-season title.

"I told the team it's important not to think that we've arrived because we won this game," said Xavier coach Thad Matta. "We've got another war on Tuesday (at George Washington)."

Saturday, the Musketeers fought off a pesky Richmond team that made several mini-runs in the second half until Romain Sato, who finished with 19 points, made back-to-back 3-pointers that finished a 15-2 run and quieted a rowdy Robins Center crowd of 8,048.

"We kept letting them come back, and their fans were getting crazy," Sato said. "So in a timeout, coach (Matta) drew up the 3-point play and said, 'You have to make that shot.' So I felt good about it when I made it."

Much of the noise coming from the Richmond student section was directed at Xavier's David West and his family, who complained about verbal abuse after a game at Robins Center last season.

Saturday, throughout the game and afterward, fans chanted "West is soft" and "Where is Harriett?" in reference to West's mother.

But West was strong on the boards and in the paint, collecting 12 rebounds and scoring a team-high 20 points for his 60th career double-double. Xavier outrebounded Richmond 37-23.

"We knew we could attack them down low," West said. "We got some good looks."

Richmond's starting post players, Johnathan Collins and Eric Zwayer, combined for 10 points and five rebounds. But 6-foot-8 backup forward Patrick O'Malley came off the bench and scored 20 points, although 15 of the points came from 3-point range.

West had plenty of help inside from center Anthony Myles, who scored 13 points in the first nine minutes of the game and finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. Myles' shooting touch from inside 12 feet allowed Xavier to stay with the hot-shooting Spiders early.

"Myles was certainly a stabilizing factor," said Richmond coach Jerry Wainwright, who saw his team fall to 6-2 in the A-10 and 12-7 overall. "You pencil in about 40 points from West and Sato, but you don't plan on Myles shooting like he did. We were never able to get out ahead, because he made every shot he took."

Actually, Myles made five of his first six shots and his first three free throws, all before the 11-minute mark in the first half.

"I was just confident when I was shooting," Myles said. "I was excited and ready to go. They lacked a little respect for my scoring ability."

Lionel Chalmers was also excited, playing in his first game since undergoing surgery Jan. 1 to repair a broken right foot. He played 11 minutes and scored two points on a pair of foul shots. Matta said Chalmers might see more playing time at George Washington.

If Xavier wins Tuesday, it will set up a showdown for first place next Saturday at Cintas Center against Dayton.

"We're not going to talk about (Dayton) now," West said. "We'll worry about George Washington and take it game by game."

E-mail ddow@enquirer.com

Xavier	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
Jackson	34	1	9	0	0	4	3	1	2	2
West	40	8	12	4	4	12	3	3	5	20
Myles	34	7	11	3	4	8	1	1	1	17
Sato	40	7	11	0	0	8	1	1	3	19
Finn	38	1	3	3	3	4	5	0	4	6
Chalmers	11	0	4	2	2	0	3	3	2	2
Caudle	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals	200	24	50	12	13	37	16	9	17	66

Team rebounds - 1.

Richmond	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
Skrocki	39	2	7	0	0	2	1	0	2	5
Collins	13	2	4	0	0	1	0	2	1	4
Zwayer	17	3	5	0	0	4	0	4	3	6
Dobbins	40	3	11	1	1	6	4	1	4	7
Myers	39	4	10	0	0	3	6	1	3	10
Mayes	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Scott	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	0
Holloman	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
O'Malley	23	7	13	1	2	4	2	2	0	20
Bucknor	8	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Steenberge	10	0	0	0	0	3	0	1	1	0
Totals	200	21	53	2	3	23	13	14	15	52

Team rebounds - 0.

Xavier	38	28	-66
Richmond	32	20	-52

3-pointers - XU 6-12 (Sato 5-8, Finn 1-2, Chalmers 0-2), R 8-23 (Skrocki 1-3, Dobbins 0-3, Myers 2-6, O'Malley 5-10, Bucknor 0-1). Technicals - None. Officials - Hughes, Connolly, Sweeney. Attendance - 8,048.