Box Score

CINCINNATI - They're no longer the three Musketeers.

Anthony Myles scored 15 points as Xavier discovered a balanced inside-outside attack Sunday night and beat Mercer 72-58 in the semifinals of the Dell™ Black Coaches Association Classic.

		Lionel Chalmers drives to the basket against Mercer in the Dell™ BCA Classic.

Xavier (2-0) will play for the championship of the eight-team tournament on Monday night against Oakland, which beat Illinois-Chicago 79-66 in the other semifinal.

Weary of watching Xavier's three guards carry the load, coach Thad Matta had the Musketeers spread the floor and get the ball inside in the second half.

"He told us to stop shooting, just go and pass it inside," Myles said. "Coach told us to just take it to them and they'll foul us, and they did."

Myles had 14 in the second half as Xavier pulled away with its newfound balance. Instead of relying on their three guards, the Musketeers got everyone involved.

"That's been a big point of emphasis," point guard Dedrick Finn said. "We don't want to be an all-guard team. That's what everybody thinks we are — three guards. We've got big men that can score inside."

The Musketeers' main challenge is to replace national player of the year David West, who gave them 20 points and 12 rebounds a game. Most of the burden will fall on Myles and Will Caudle, who had a career-high eight rebounds.

Scott Emerson scored 25 points and had 10 rebounds for Mercer (1-1), which had no chance to keep up once the Musketeers went inside.

Romain Sato added 14 points for Xavier, Lionel Chalmers had 12 and Finn scored 11.
For the second consecutive game, Xavier's guards came out firing away from beyond the 3-point arc to get the lead. The Musketeers made their first five 3s — two by Sato, two by Chalmers, one by Finn — as they pulled ahead 21-10.

Mercer went to a tight man-to-man defense to shut down Xavier's outside game, but couldn't get the lead under three points the rest of the way. Mercer shot 39 percent from the field against a defense that held Coppin State to 37 points in the opening round.

The Musketeers opened the second half by spreading the floor and making it a point of emphasis to get the ball inside. Myles scored a pair of close-up baskets - and had one shot blocked - and Caudle had a putback that made it 45-34.

For the first time in two games, Xavier's front line was a big part the game.

"We have yet to put together a consistent effort," coach Thad Matta said. "We have four guys back (as starters) and we're trying to work some new guys in there. We're still searching for an identity."

Emerson, a 6-foot-9 forward voted the Atlantic Sun Conference's top player in the preseason, kept Mercer in the game by scoring its first six points of the second half.

Xavier took control with a 12-1 run that included a reverse layup and a fastbreak layup by Myles that made it 58-43 with eight minutes left. Mercer never seriously challenged again.