Nov. 28, 2000

Box Score

CINCINNATI -- Freshman Romain Sato scored all of his team-high 17 points in the second half, including 10 in a row as Xavier pulled away to a 65-55 victory Tuesday over Samford.

Sato also had 16 rebounds, matching Brian Grant's school record for a freshman.

Xavier (3-0) struggled against Samford's deliberate half-court style until Sato took over the game with five minutes left.

His 3-pointer put Xavier ahead to stay 54-52 with 4:05 left and was part of his personal 10-point spurt. He hit four consecutive free throws to put Xavier ahead 61-52, its biggest lead to that point.

Samford, the defending Trans America Athletic Conference champion, was outscored 14-3 in the final four minutes as it fell to 0-3 for the first time since 1990-91.

Derrick Jones led Samford with 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 7-of-13 on 3-point attempts. Marc Salyers added 17.

Samford took 33 of its 51 shots from behind the 3-point arc, hitting 11 of them to keep it close until Sato got hot.

Samford's deliberate half-court offense took Xavier out of the fastbreak pace on which it thrives. The Bulldogs' inside-out passing resulted in open 3-pointers, and they hit 5-of-16 in the first half for a 28-all tie.

Xavier's full-court pressure finally started getting results early in the second half. Three consecutive turnovers set up an eight-point spurt that pushed Xavier ahead 39-36, but Jones' 3-pointer from his favorite spot - the right wing - ended the run and tied it again.

The lead exchanged hands seven times in five minutes before Maurice McAfee scored his first points of the game on a driving layup and a double-clutch jumper for a 49-44 Xavier lead.

A pair of 3-pointers by Jones put Samford ahead for the last time at 52-51 with 4:17 to go, but Sato hit consecutive 3's to give Xavier the lead for good.