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Raymond shoots Xavier to 11th straight win

Feb 6, 2009 - 5:00 AM CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- B.J. Raymond was the star of Xavier's latest convincing win in the Atlantic 10.

Raymond scored 24 points as ninth-ranked Xavier continued its mid-season tear with an 83-72 victory over Temple on Thursday.

Derrick Brown and Jason Love chipped in 13 points apiece for the Musketeers (20-2, 8-0 A-10), who posted their 11th straight win.

It also was Xavier's 21st straight victory against a conference opponent at the Cintas Center.

The Musketeers, who shot 52 percent (30-of-58), have beaten four of their last five A-10 opponents by nine or more points.

Xavier took control with a 10-0 run minutes into the second half, turning a three-point edge into a 52-39 advantage with 13:25 remaining. Raymond connected on one of his five 3-pointers during the burst.

Overall, Raymond went 7-of-11 from the field and 5-of-7 from the arc as he surpassed 20 points for the fourth straight game.

According to the senior swingman, he had a big incentive to play well against the Owls.

"Last year I didn't play well (against Temple), 0-for-6 from the field," Raymond said.

Raymond also starred on the defensive end, helping to hold the Owls' leading scorer, Dionte Christmas, to 12 points on 6-of-16 shooting - eight below his average.

"Defense was a big challenge for me tonight," Raymond said. "This was probably one of my best defensive games. He's (Christmas) a future pro. He doesn't take a possession off even though he plays the entire game."

"He's a leader. He does so many things on defense," Musketeers coach Sean Miller said of Raymond. "Plus he scored 24 points tonight."

Brown had eight rebounds and Love added seven as Xavier finished with a 39-31 advantage on the boards.

Sergio Olmos scored 18 points for Temple (12-9, 4-3), which lost its third straight road game in league play.

Although he was held in check scoring the basketball, Christmas did pass it, finishing with eight assists against one turnover.

However, the senior guard did finish 0-of-3 on 3-pointers, marking the second straight game that he did not score from behind the arc. It was the first time that happened since he was a freshman.

"He was 0-for-3 (from beyond the 3-point line)," Temple coach Fran Dunphy said. "I don't think he got a lot of good looks. Raymond did a really good job on Dionte. He gets lots of attention."