Freshman Romain Sato had 13 points. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

        Xavier tried the Cintas Center on for size Saturday, and it was a loose, comfortable fit. Good thing — it leaves the Musketeers room to grow.

        Four XU players with a combined one season of college experience were the stars of a season-opening 68-54 victory over Miami, combining for 47 points and 25 rebounds. Those players were newcomers Romain Sato, Lionel Chalmers and Dave Young, and sophomore Dave West.

        Miami coach Charlie Coles could see Xavier's youth movement coming, saying earlier in the week, “The new arena and the team go together. They're going to be awful good these next few years.”

        West was the known quantity, making the Atlantic 10's preseason second team. But Chalmers and Young hadn't played a game in 20 months, both having missed their freshman seasons for academic reasons, and Sato had played only one season of high school basketball.

        “We're a very good part of the team,” Chalmers said of the rookies. “We're going to be around awhile, and I know we'll make some noise.”

Sophomore David West had 17. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        Sato started and scored 13 points, all in the first half, and added six rebounds.

        Chalmers, who started when junior forward Lloyd Price was scratched with an ankle injury, scored eight points, had six steals, four assists and two rebounds. Young made all three of his 3-point attempts for nine points and four rebounds in 14 minutes.

        “Collectively, they did some very good things and some less-than-ideal things,” XU coach Skip Prosser said. “Dave Young gave us a great lift off the bench. Lionel, mercurial really describes him. (Chalmers was 4-of-13 with three turnovers.) And Romain hit some shots early on and we got to find out if the "home' end of the scoreboard worked.”

        Sato scored six of Xavier's first eight points on two 3-pointers, helping buoy XU early. Miami held tight: With six minutes left in the half, Xavier's lead was just 19-17. But it went on a 17-2 run in a 4:38 span to build a 36-19 lead, and Miami didn't get closer than 15 points until the final minute.

        West dominated inside, totaling 17 points and 13 rebounds. Junior forward Kevin Frey added 12 points and four assists.

Kevin Frey wrestles Rich Allendorf for the ball. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

        XU held Miami to 2-of-16 shooting (.125 percent) on 3-pointers — sharpshooter Jason Grunkemeyer scored just six points on 2-of-9 shooting — and forced 19 turnovers.

        “I had a suspicion (Xavier) would be pretty good,” Coles said. “I'd seen everybody but Chalmers. Wow! That's adding him to West and those other guys.”

        Chalmers struggled in the opening minutes, blowing a layup and badly missing a 3-pointer. But his nervousness wore off, and his steal total tied the XU single-game sophomore record.

        “I was anxious in the very beginning, but I settled down and adjusted,” Chalmers said. “I think we all played hard.”

        Young entered the game with 4:51 left in the first half, and two minutes later took his first collegiate shot, a 3-pointer. It swished.

        “That got me going,” Young said. “It felt good. It was a long wait to be playing again.”

        Young had suffered a rocky preseason, struggling to learn plays in practice.

        “Coach had confidence in me, and that meant a lot,” Young said. “I'm glad my shot was falling, but it's just as important to play good defense.”

        Sato showed no nerves. He also made the first shot he tried, a 3-pointer. But he was disappointed about not scoring in the second half.

        “The college level is very different,” he said. “We (he, Young and Chalmers) are all first-year players. By the time we learn to play together, we can be a good team.”

        How good? At the buzzer, loudspeakers blared CBS' NCAA Tournament theme.

        “We'll deal with the shortcomings tomorrow in practice,” Prosser said. “But that stretch we had at the end of the first half ... if we can play 40 minutes like that, we can be a good basketball team.”

        MIAMI (0-1) — Davis 4-12 2-2 10, Ensminger 2-3 0-0 4, Allendorf 7-10 0-0 14, Grunkemeyer 2-9 0-0 6, Johnson 6-11 0-0 12, Drake 2-3 0-0 4, Helmers 2-6 0-0 4, Seals 0-2 0-0 0, Reed 0-2 0-0 0, Edwards 0-1 0-1 0. Totals 25-59 2-3 54.

        XAVIER (1-0) — Frey 5-10 2-2 12, Sato 5-12 0-0 13, West 7-9 3-4 17, Chalmers 4-13 0-1 8, McAfee 1-5 0-0 3, Young 3-4 0-0 9, Brown 1-1 0-0 2, Mason 0-1 0-0 0, Butler 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 28-58 5-7 68.

        Halftime—Xavier 38, Miami 21. 3-point goals—Miami 2-16 (Davis 0-4, Grunkemeyer 2-5, Johnson 0-2, Drake 0-1, Helmers 0-3, Seals 0-1), Xavier 7-21 (Frey 0-2 Sato 3-7 Chalmers 0-5 McAfee 1-4, Young 3-3). Fouled out—None. Rebounds—Miami 30 (Ensminger,Allendorf 6), Xavier 35 (West 13). Assists—Miami 13 (Davis 4), Xavier 14 (Frey, Chalmers 4). Total fouls—Miami 14, Xavier 14. A—10,250.

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