CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Xavier coach Thad Matta questioned his team's resolve after a disappointing loss. On Sunday, the 11th-ranked Musketeers answered with a 93-64 rout of Florida A&M.
David West collected 19 points and 12 rebounds and Romain Sato added 16 and 12 for Xavier (2-1), which bounced back from its 63-62 loss at Stanford on Wednesday in the second round of the Preseason NIT.
"The big concern coming into this game was how we would react to adversity, coming off a tough loss," Matta said. "I thought that our intensity was good. The team can get better. I told them, 'We're going to get better the next nine days.' What we are searching for here is getting guys to play their best basketball.
"I'm not into mind games. I just want guys to play the best basketball that they're capable of playing."
West shot 5-of-12 from the field and converted 9-of-10 from the line. He also had four assists, two blocks and two steals.
"We bounced back after a tough loss. Coach was questioning whether we could come back and play hard," he said. "We really screwed up a great opportunity at Stanford. We have to correct our mistakes and continue to get better."
Lionel Chalmers also scored 16 points and Dave Young and Anthony Myles came off the bench to contribute 10 points apiece for the Musketeers, who won their 12th straight home game. Their 93 points were the most in the Cintas Center since scoring 108 against Long Island University last December.
Dominique Jackson scored 20 points in Florida A&M's season opener. Demarcus Wilkins added 14 points and Michael Griffith nine.
"Obviously, the best team won," Rattlers coach Mike Gillespie said. "I thought it might have been a little different if they had won. They would be looking forward to Florida (in the Preseason NIT semifinals)."
Xavier outscored Florida A&M, 49-24, in the first half before cruising to its second win in as many meetings with A&M.
West led the Musketeers in the first half with 13 points. Freshman Will Caudle, in his first start of the year, scored seven of Xavier's first 13 points to take a 16-7 lead five minutes into the game. Xavier finished the half with a 12-0 run.
The Musketeers went on a 19-5 tear capped by freshman Keith Jackson's three-point play to open an 87-49 lead with 7:14 remaining.
Florida A&M shot 40 percent (23-of-57) but was outrebounded, 50-23, and outscored in the paint, 44-14.