University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Xavier
Xavier Downs Richmond 62-51
02/10/2004 | Men's Basketball
Feb 10, 2004
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By HANK KURZ Jr.
AP Sports Writer
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Lionel Chalmers scored 20 points, including a clinching 3-pointer with 2:40 remaining Tuesday night, and Xavier beat Richmond on its home floor for the third straight time, 62-51.
For the second straight season, the Musketeers (13-9, 4-5 Atlantic 10) avenged a rare home loss to the Spiders by turning the tables at the Robins Center. The visitor has now won five straight in the series.
Richmond (13-10, 5-5) lost for only the second time in seven games after going more than 5˝ minutes without a field goal late in the second half, allowing Xavier to build its lead to double digits at 54-44.
Two free throws pulled Richmond to within 54-46 with 3:06 to play, but Chalmers swished a 3-pointer from the right corner before Gaston Moliva's three-point play ended the Spiders' field goal drought with 2:19 left.
Richmond's last field goal, with 7:54 left, had made it 47-42.
Romain Sato, who scored all 14 of his points in the second half, then gave the Musketeers their biggest lead of the night with a 3-pointer from the left side, letting the remaining air out of Richmond's comeback.
Anthony Myles added 13 points for Xavier, and Sato had 11 rebounds. The Musketeers won their third straight after losing five of six.
Mike Skrocki led the Spiders with 21 points, but didn't score in the last 11˝ minutes. He missed his last seven shots from the field, a trend for Richmond as the Spiders were just 8-for-31 in the second half.
The Spiders started slow, too, missing 11 of their first 13 shots. Trailing 14-4 after Myles' ninth point down low for Xavier, Richmond outscored the Musketeers 22-11 the rest of the way, taking its first lead at 26-25 on Skrocki's 3-pointer 7.5 seconds before halftime.
