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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 3:53 p.m., Friday, March 20, 2009

NCAA: Xavier rolls over Portland State, 77-59

By DOUG ALDEN
AP Sports Writer

BOISE, Idaho — C.J. Anderson scored 14 points and Xavier shot 54 percent from the field, beating Portland State 77-59 Friday night to reach the second round of the NCAA tournament for the third straight year.

The Musketeers (26-7) stifled Portland State's usual barrage of 3-pointers and showed they could shoot from the outside, too, making eight of 19 tries and going 29-for-54 overall in their East Regional opener.

Derrick Brown, B.J. Raymond and Dante Jackson added 13 points each as Xavier overwhelmed the Big Sky Conference champion Vikings, who were in the tournament for just the second time.

Jamie Jones led the Vikings (23-10) with 16 points.

While Portland State entered the tournament with the reputation for slinging 3-pointers — averaging more than 25 attempts per game — the fourth-seeded Musketeers were the better shooters from beyond the arc. Portland State didn't hit a deep try in the second half until less than seven minutes remained and Xavier already led by 20.

Xavier, which improved to 22-0 when leading at halftime, faces the winner of the Florida State-Wisconsin game, which followed the Musketeers' victory.

Andre Murray finished with 14 points and Jeremiah Dominguez, the Vikings' sparkplug point guard, finished with 13 points and four rebounds.

Phil Nelson, the Vikings' third-leading scorer at 11.2 points per game, went scoreless.

Portland State, the No. 13 seed, led by one briefly in the first half, but couldn't overcome a cold stretch in the second when even free throws were bouncing out for Portland State.

Dominguez went 0-for-2 from the line with 9:31 left to play and Xavier already up 61-45. After the misses, Anderson muscled through a foul for a layup, then Redmond hit a 3-pointer to start a 13-0 run that put it away for the Musketeers.

Portland State made its NCAA debut a year ago, drawing eventual national champion Kansas in the first round and losing 85-61. The second time around, the Vikings weren't the least bit awed and hung right with the sharpshooting Musketeers early.

Murray hit a 3-pointer that gave Portland State a 25-24 lead, but Brown hit a jumper and Brad Redford followed with a 3-pointer to start a 13-2 run for the Musketeers. Jackson made a steal and passed it to Raymond for an easy layup, then Jackson hit a 3-pointer to put the Musketeers ahead 37-27 with 4:19 remaining in the half.

After Brown's put Xavier up 42-32, Portland State held out for the final shot, taking — of course — a 3-pointer just before the buzzer. Murray hit the shot from the corner and the Vikings were within 42-35 at halftime, giving the Portland State band reason to strike up the theme from "Rocky" before the second half.

The optimism faded quickly in the second half as Raymond hit a 3-pointer, Jackson drove for a layup and lofted a perfect alley-oop pass for Brown during a 7-2 run that put the Musketeers right back up by double figures again.