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Balanced attack, first-half run fuels Xavier

Feb 22, 2008 - 5:47 AM CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Xavier's offensive explosion late in the first half was enough to carry the Musketeers to another victory.

Derrick Brown had 13 points and 11 rebounds and C.J. Anderson added 13 and 10 as No. 12 Xavier cruised to its ninth straight win with a 75-48 victory over Duquesne in Atlantic-10 action on Thursday.

B.J. Raymond scored all 13 of his points in the first half and Jason Love chipped in 12 for the Musketeers, who recorded their most lopsided conference victory of the season.

With the win, Xavier (23-4, 11-1 A10) now leads the conference by 3 1/2 games over three teams with just four contests remaining. The Musketeers can clinch the regular season title with a victory over Dayton on Sunday.

The Dukes had scored the game's first five points and led, 15-11, with 12:41 left in the first half before Xavier took over for good.

The Musketeers went on a 12-0 spurt to take a 23-15 lead and, after Duquesne cut the deficit to three, Xavier answered with an 18-2 run over the final seven minutes of the half to take a commanding 45-26 bulge at the break.

Xavier made 14 of its final 17 shots to end the half, including 10 straight, while the Dukes missed their final eight shots before intermission.

Xavier was never threatened during the second half, taking a 60-36 lead after Brown's three-point play with 12:24 remaining and leading by at least 19 points from there on out.

Stanley Burrell had a career-high 12 assists for the Musketeers, who outscored the Dukes, 42-26, in the paint.

Reggie Jackson scored 12 points and Shawn James added 11 and seven blocks for Duquesne (16-9, 6-6), which shot 31 percent (19-of-62) from the floor, including 5-of-22 from the arc.

The loss also denied the Dukes' first three-game conference road winning streak in school history.