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National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Xavier 77, Saint Louis 66
When: 9:00 PM ET, Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Where: Cintas Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
Officials: # Brent Hampson, # Brian O'Connell, # Earl Walton
Attendance: 9722


Xavier 77, No. 15 Saint Louis 66 (OT): Travis Taylor tallied 19 points and a career-high 19 rebounds as the Musketeers knocked off their second ranked opponent at home in eight days and snapped the Billikens’ 11-game winning streak.

Taylor, who added a career-high six blocks, posted his 10th double-double of the season while freshman guard Semaj Christon finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for Xavier (17-12, 9-6 A-10), which also stopped the 18-game winning streak of then-No. 17 Memphis on Feb. 26.

Kwamain Mitchell scored 17 points while Dwayne Evans finished with 16 points and nine rebounds – coming up one rebound shy of his third consecutive double-double – before fouling out for Saint Louis (23-6, 12-3), which was denied at least a share of its first conference title since the 1970-71 season. The Billikens can still assure themselves a piece of the regular-season crown with a home win over LaSalle on Saturday.

Saint Louis, which overcame an eight-point second-half deficit, missed its first nine shots in the extra period and could not muster a field goal until Mitchell hit a jumper with 26 seconds remaining. Xavier, which finished 26-of-37 from the foul line, used the cold spell and pulled away by hitting 14 of its 16 free throws in overtime.

The Billikens led the entire first half and early into the second, but were held scoreless over a 6:10 span, allowing the Musketeers to take their first lead of the game at 30-29 on a dunk from Taylor. Saint Louis spent the rest of regulation clawing its way back, drawing even at 59 with 12 seconds left on a tip shot by Jordair Jett to send it into overtime.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Xavier has not lost consecutive games at home since the 2005-06 season. … Cody Ellis, the Billikens’ second-leading scorer, was held to four points and missed all of 15 of his shots from the field, including 11 3-pointers. … Saint Louis can still claim its first outright conference title since 1956-57 season with a win Saturday and a loss by Virginia Commonwealth at Temple on Sunday.


Top Game Performances
 
Saint Louis   Xavier
Kwamain Mitchell 17 Scoring Semaj Christon 20
Dwayne Evans 2 Assists Semaj Christon 7
Dwayne Evans 9 Rebounds Travis Taylor 19
Dwayne Evans 6 Free Throws Made Travis Taylor 7
Kwamain Mitchell 4 Steals Semaj Christon 2
Rob Loe 2 Blocks Travis Taylor 6
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Saint Louis 66 30.1 7-30 15-21 7 39 5 10 10
Xavier 77 42.6 5-11 26-37 14 44 10 9 16