By Dustin Dow
The Cincinnati Enquirer

David West cheers with his teammates from the bench in the final minute of play against Temple Saturday. (Steven M. Herppich photo) | ZOOM |

After the first 20 minutes Saturday, it looked as if Xavier was going to have to pull out another close win, this time against Temple in the Atlantic 10 regular-season finale.

But a barrage of 3-pointers that tied a school record and stingy second-half defense lifted No. 11 Xavier to a 96-65 victory, giving the Musketeers their second consecutive A-10 regular-season title.

Xavier finishes 24-4 and 15-1 in the A-10, one game ahead of Dayton (21-5, 14-2), which was awarded a win after St. Bonaventure forfeited its final two games.

XU opens Atlantic 10 tournament play at noon Thursday against the winner of Monday's Massachusetts-George Washington game.

"Our big thing was to dominate this conference," said

senior David West, who saw his No. 30 retired before the game. "And we did that. Dayton won 14 and came in second. After that first loss, (to Richmond) we decided we're not giving anybody anything."

For the first time in five games, Xavier didn't need any late-game stops or last-second tip-ins. Instead, the Musketeers won their 15th consecutive game behind the strength of a 25-5 second-half run that featured four straight 3-pointers from Lionel Chalmers, Dedrick Finn and Romain Sato.

Xavier tied a school record set twice before, in 2001 and 1999, with 14 3-pointers. West made No. 14 with 10:05 to play, giving Xavier a 64-45 lead.

After making 46 percent of its shots in the first half to go into halftime trailing 40-34, Temple shot just 38 percent in the second half, mainly because Xavier allowed few open shots.

West waves to fans as he leaves the game. (Steven M. Herppich photo) | ZOOM |

"I thought we challenged shots better in the second half," said XU coach Thad Matta. "I thought we were more energized by our defense today. We did a better job of taking care of the ball, and, truth be told, we were making shots."

Xavier players took what was available against Temple's matchup zone: outside shots and free throws. More than half of Xavier's 27 field goals were 3-pointers.

"When you leave us open, we're supposed to make shots," said Chalmers, who made five 3s and finished with 17 points.

The Musketeers made 28 of 32 free throws. Sato led Xavier with 29 points, making five 3-pointers. West had 17 points, eight rebounds and a team-high seven assists in his final game at Cintas Center.

Before the game, a sold-out crowd of 10,250 gave him a standing ovation as No. 30 was unveiled in the rafters, joining Tyrone Hill's No. 42 and Byron Larkin's No. 23 as the only retired numbers in program history. West stood near midcourt and spoke briefly, thanking the fans for their support. His parents, Harriett and Amos West, were seated next to him.

"Looking back, I swear I couldn't have made a better choice," West said of his decision to come to Xavier. He finished by saying, "There's still a lot of basketball left this season," in reference to the A-10 Tournament next week in Dayton and the NCAA Tournament that follows.

"(Xavier) paid great respect to David," Matta said. "He is certainly deserving of having his jersey hang up there."

West came into the game needing a double-double to tie Hill for the most career double-doubles in

West waves the net at fans after cutting it down. (Steven M. Herppich photo) | ZOOM |

Xavier history with 67, but West finished two rebounds shy of 10. Temple's four-guard lineup forced the 6-foot-9 West out to the perimeter to guard 6-4 Brian Polk for much of the game.

"I wasn't in position to rebound as often as I usually am," West said.

It showed, as Temple held a 15-11 rebounding edge at the half. But Xavier's defense forced the Owls (13-14, 10-6) into 27 missed shots in the second half, which created several rebounding opportunities. The Musketeers won the rebounding battle 35-29.

Heading into next week's A-10 Tournament, the Musketeers have tied Weber State for the nation's second-longest winning streak at 15 behind Kentucky, which won its 20th-straight game Saturday at Florida. Xavier's streak ties a school record set during the 1987-88 season.

Saturday's win was the most decisive since Xavier defeated La Salle 93-71 Feb. 19. In between, Xavier won four games by a combined margin of 12 points. The 31-point margin Saturday made it easier to enjoy when Matta was able to remove the starters late in the game.

"In February and March, you've got to just win games," Matta said. "We've been able to do that. And right now, we are all about getting better."

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E-mail ddow@enquirer.com

Temple	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
Wesby	34	10	16	3	3	5	2	3	0	24
Butler	28	1	3	0	0	6	0	3	1	2
Polk	30	4	12	0	0	1	1	4	0	10
Collins	35	2	10	0	0	2	0	5	1	4
Hawkins	38	7	15	4	4	5	5	4	6	20
Allen	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Elliott	12	0	1	0	2	7	0	0	0	0
Gaither	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	0
Smith	4	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	0
Murry	13	2	9	0	0	0	1	3	0	5
Tulleners	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
Totals	200	26	68	7	9	29	9	25	10	65

Team rebounds - 0.

Xavier	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
Sato	36	8	15	8	8	6	4	3	2	29
West	38	5	8	6	6	8	7	3	1	17
Myles	25	3	6	2	2	7	3	1	2	8
Chalmers	35	5	10	2	2	2	4	1	1	17
Finn	34	3	6	1	2	3	6	0	1	10
Smith	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jackson	20	2	4	2	2	2	1	1	1	6
Christiansen	2	0	0	2	4	1	1	0	0	2
Caudle	4	0	0	5	6	2	0	1	2	5
Caldwell	3	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
Compton	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals	200	27	50	28	32	35	26	10	10	96

Team rebounds - 4.

Temple	34	31	-65
Xavier	40	56	-96

3-pointers - T 6-21 (Wesby 1-2, Polk 2-7, Collins 0-2, Hawkins 2-5, Gaither 0-1, Murry 1-4), XU 14-26 (Sato 5-10, West 1-1, Chalmers 5-10, Finn 3-5). Technicals - None. Officials - Clark, Steratore, Walton. Attendance - 10,250.