AMHERST, Mass. -- Xavier epitomizes a lot of things that make a winning team. They do so many things well that it's not surprising that they're 17-4 and on top of the Atlantic 10 at 5-1.
For one, they're balanced. Six players average in double figures per game, and it's a balance that comes naturally as well as from the quality of the players. They trust each other on the floor and complement one another, and this veteran team appears to know what each player can do.
Head coach Sean Miller pointed out the various skills of their players as a natural reason for it. He has a shooter in B.J. Raymond, a versatile combo guard in Stanley Burrell who is shooting a career-best 42 percent from long range this season, a post scorer who can step out and hit jumpers in Josh Duncan, a floor leader who can drive and score in Lavender, a wing who can play well near the basket in C.J. Anderson and a guy who can do a little of everything in Derrick Brown, just for starters.
"You put that whole group together, and it lends itself to a lot of balance," said Miller, who noted that they also rebound by committee.
They also know how to win on the road, as they are now 6-3 in true road games this year. That's not something that happened overnight, as this team has been tested on the road all season long. There have been setbacks, including one that some thought they should not have played in Miami (Ohio), and they were blown out by an Arizona State team that's proven to be better than advertised.
But ever since the new year, this team has turned it up a notch when away from home. Take away the loss at Temple on Jan. 16 and they're perfect on the road in 2008, with wins at Auburn, George Washington and now UMass. For good measure, they haven't just pulled out close ones at the buzzer, winning by an average of over 14 points per game.
"We got to put our foot down somewhere, now we're just taking it one possession at a time and trying to get stops on defense to help us on offense," said Lavender.
More than the balance and the road winning, the Musketeers' defense stood out on Sunday. They held UMass, a team that shoots 45 percent from the field, to 37 percent shooting, and specifically shut down the top Minutemen. Gary Forbes had 16 points but on 5-15 shooting, while Ricky Harris had seven points on 2-8 shooting. In the first half, UMass scored 23 points. That was how the Musketeers had the lead and then won the game while not playing their best offensive basketball as well.
Spearheading the defensive effort was Burrell, who guarded Harris for a good deal of the game. The senior is widely regarded as one of the best defenders in the Atlantic 10, and he's shown it recently as he shut down Dayton's Brian Roberts on Thursday night and now Harris. While it was a team defensive effort, and the players are quick to cite the trust in each other at both ends of the floor, Burrell certainly helped lead the way. Burrell's scoring numbers are down from a high of his sophomore year, but he's clearly very valuable to this team as a senior and one who's matured over the years.
"We depend on him," said Duncan of Burrell. "He's guarding one of the best players every time we play and he's done a good job. We appreciate the he's working hard to help us on defense and offense."
Xavier also showed an ability to stop the Minutemen from gaining any real momentum. It seemed like every time UMass tried to get a run going, the Musketeers always had an answer. They led by double digits for much of the second half, and when UMass got within five late in the game, the Musketeers responded by scoring the game's final six points.
Lavender, who scored 13 of his team-high 19 points in the second half, was at the center of stopping rally attempts. After a Chris Lowe layup made it 63-56, Lavender scored on a driving layup to bring the lead back to nine. After a Gary Forbes free throw brought it back to eight, Lavender drove for another layup to bring the lead back to 10.
"They have a great point guard who does a great job of controlling their team, as well as I've seen," said UMass head coach Travis Ford, himself a former point guard.
"Drew Lavender is the difference in the game," said Miller of his floor leader, who also had a game-high nine rebounds despite being the smallest player on the floor at 5-foot-7. "When he plays at a high level, we're our most difficult to defeat, and that's the player that we had tonight."
The Musketeers seem to have all the ingredients to keep up their winning -- road wins, balance, defense and a floor leader who knows how to run the show.
