CINCINNATI - The No. 8/11 Xavier men's basketball team concluded their regular season with an 86-61 victory over the Richmond Spiders in front of a sell-out crowd at Cintas Center. Junior B.J. Raymond scored a career-high 22 points to lead the Musketeers. Xavier heads into the Atlantic 10 Tournament with a record of 26-5 (14-2 A-10) while Richmond falls to 16-13 (9-7 A-10) for the season.

 

Tonight was "Senior Night" at Cintas Center, honoring seniors Stanley Burrell, Josh Duncan, and Drew Lavender.  All three have been standouts for Xavier this season, each scoring more than 1,000 points over their careers. Burrell is in contention for the A-10 and National Player of the Year awards. Lavender has recorded 1,363 career points and 517 assists heading into the postseason. Duncan leads XU in scoring with 11.6 points per game, including a school-record 16 straight field goals over a three-game stretch this season.

 

The Musketeers dominated second half play, outscoring the Spiders 54-35 on the way to their 14th Atlantic 10 Conference victory. The half featured a 22-3 Xavier opening run to the 11:51 mark.

 

Richmond fouled Xavier 33 times with three players fouling out. XU capitalized on the opportunities, downing a season-high 36 of 43 free throw attempts for an incredible 83.7 percent average on the night. Xavier came into tonight's game shooting 74.6 percent from the charity stripe.

 

Xavier featured five players scoring in double digits, including Raymond (22), Duncan (13), sophomore Derrick Brown (13), junior C.J. Anderson (12) and Burrell (11). XU is now 20-0 this season when four or more players score in double figures.

 

Duncan completed his career in Cintas Center with a 13-point, five-rebound performance that included making 11 of 13 free throw attempts. Burrell led the Musketeers with four assists to go with 11 points, bolstered by a 7-8 night from the free throw line.

 

Freshman Dante' Jackson started the first game of his career, replacing senior Drew Lavender in the lineup. Jackson added five points and five rebounds over his 26 minutes of play.

 

The Spiders played well from the start, opening an 11-5 first half lead after an 11-2 run, as Richmond's first five points were scored by Dan Geriot. XU's Raymond halted the run with five straight points of his own, shifting the momentum in Xavier's favor.

 

The Musketeers finished the first half with a 32-26 lead. Raymond finished the half leading XU with 12 points, two rebounds and two assists. Brown led Xavier on the boards with four rebounds to go with four points, three assists, and two blocks at the halfway point.

 

Tonight's victory gave Xavier 26 wins for the season, tying it for the second-most in school history with the 2003-04, 2002-03, 2001-02, and 1987-88 teams. The record for most wins is a season is 28 by the 1989-90 "Sweet 16" team.

 

Xavier head coach Sean Miller has now surpassed Bob Staak (1979-85) for seventh all-time with 89 wins as a head coach at XU.

 

Following the game, Xavier fans were welcome to join the team on the court while the nets were cut as confetti floated down to celebrate XU's back-to-back Atlantic 10 regular season championships.

 

Xavier, 14-2 in the Atlantic 10, has earned its second straight A-10 regular season title and its sixth in 13 years.  XU will have the top seed and a first-round bye in the upcoming A-10 Tournament and will play the winner of the Dayton/Saint Louis first-round matchup at noon on Thursday, March 13 in Atlantic City, N.J.