Thu Mar 13 17:03:52 2008

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Balanced attack lifts Xavier past Dayton in A-10 quarters

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Atlantic City, NJ (Sports Network) - Josh Duncan led five Xavier players in double-digits with 16 points, as the 10th-ranked Musketeers downed Dayton, 74-65, in quarterfinal action at the Atlantic-10 Tournament.

C.J. Anderson finished with 15 points and seven rebounds for Xavier (27-5), which will face Saint Joseph's in Friday's semifinal round. Saint Joseph's beat Richmond, 61-47, in Thursday's quarterfinal.

Stanley Burrell scored 13, Drew Lavender 12, and Derrick Brown 11 for Xavier, while Brown also grabbed nine boards.

Marcus Johnson scored a game-high 26, while Brian Roberts added 13 for Dayton (21-10), which had a four-game win streak snapped.

With Dayton down six at halftime, Johnson opened the second half with a three to keep it a close game. A little more than five minutes later, the Flyers took the lead. Jimmy Binnie canned a three and Roberts a made jumper back-to- back, putting Dayton on top 43-41 with 14:11 left.

The teams swapped baskets until a 14-2 run put Xavier back on top with a more comfortable lead. Duncan had five points in the surge, and Brown ended it with a pair of free throws, pushing the Musketeers' lead to 58-48.

With just under nine minutes remaining, Dayton stayed close, but couldn't cut Xavier's lead to a single possession. With 1:15 left, Johnson made another trey, bringing the Flyers within 66-59.

The Musketeers, though, made 8-of-10 free throws down the stretch to close out the game.

Dayton jumped out to a 10-4 lead and a Johnson three put his team up 17-12 with 11:55 left in the half.

But Xavier took control at that point with a 13-0 run. Duncan had five points and Brown ended it with a dunk with 8:54 left, pushing the Musketeers' lead to 25-17.

They extended their edge to 31-21 after Lavender and Burrell canned back-to- back threes with just more than six minutes remaining. Dayton drew back within single digits, and a London Warren tip-in closed the first-half scoring, trimming Xavier's lead to 35-29 at the break.

Game Notes

Xavier made 24-of-34 from the free-throw line, while Dayton was successful on 17-of-28 attempts...The Musketeers held a 37-25 rebounding advantage...Johnson was 13-of-16 on free throws for the Flyers...Each team took 19 three-point attempts, with Dayton making six, and Xavier making eight.