Xavier defeats G.W. for 2-0 league start

Xavier improves to (2-0) in Atlantic 10 play after defeating George Washington 71-56 without the help of Dee Davis. Davis, who sprained his left wrist against Temple, did not play against George Washington, which left Xavier a guard short. The Musketeers were able to rise to the challenge and win the game despite being shorthanded.

The Musketeers were able to start the game quick going on a 7-0 run. A tip in by Martin and a dunk by Robinson gave Xavier a quick lead, but George Washington didn't back down after the quick start.

Xavier switched to a 2-3 zone on defense and the Colonels took advantage of that by knocking down a couple of 3 pointers. A 3 pointer by Mikic softened the zone and made the game 9-6. After a made basket by Semaj Christon, Kethan Savage hit a 3 that brought the score to 11-9. The Musketeers switched back to the man-to-man defense for the rest of the game after this made 3.

Seniors Jeff Robinson and Brad Redford would carry the team during the first half with Robinson hitting a long jumper at the 8:16 mark to give the Musketeers a 22-14 lead. Redford would hit a 3 off an assist from Travis Taylor to start a 7-0 run as Xavier ended the half. A fade away jumper from Isaiah Philmore gave the Musketeers their biggest lead of the game at that point 35-20 as they headed into halftime.

George Washington came out of halftime with some energy and started the new half with a dunk from Isaiah Armwood. This was the start of a mini 4-0 run by the Colonels that caused Coach Mack to call timeout and gain control of his players.

After the timeout, Semaj Christon took it upon himself to stop the Colonels mini by scoring Xavier's next 4 points and extending the lead to 39-24. George Washington would not go away. Back to back layups by Dwayne Smith and Lasan Kromah brought the lead to within 10 as the Musketeers led 39-30 with 14:18 left in the game.

Again Semaj Christon would answer the call and score on a nice hesitation move to the basket to restore Xavier's double-digit lead. The Colonels still refused to go away as they responded with a 10-2 run. Poor rebounding by the Musketeers allowed George Washington to get second chances at scoring. Lasan Kromah led the Colonels again during this run scoring 5 points and dishing out an assist that cut Xavier's lead to 46-40 with just over 9 minutes remaining.

A rare made 3-pointer by Semaj Christon ended the run. George Washington would do all they could to try to come back, but too much Brad Redford hurt the Colonels chances, as Redford would hit 4 of his career high 7 threes within the last six and a half minutes of the game. The Musketeers shot 8/10 from 3 for the game. They also shot well from the field finishing the game at 57.1% while holding George Washington to 38.6% from the field.

Brad Redford finished the game with a career high 21 points and a career high shooting percentage from 3, shooting 7/8 from behind the arc for the game. Semaj also finished with 21 points and added 7 assists, but also 5 turnovers. Jeff Robinson finished with 14 points. Travis Taylor did not score double figures, but finished with 11 rebounds and a career high 6 assists.

George Washington was led in scoring by Lasan Kromah who finished with 12 points. The Colonels next highest scorer was Patricio Garino who had 9 points, but shot 3/14 from the field.

Xavier will be back in action at Saint Bonaventure on Wednesday at 8:00 P.M.