Tru Washington scores 21 points and Xavier tops Mississippi State 81-63

Tru Washington scored 21 points and Xavier defeated Mississippi State 81-63 on Friday night at the Greenbrier Tip-OffWHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. -- Tru Washington scored 21 points and Xavier defeated Mississippi State 81-63 on Friday night at the Greenbrier Tip-Off.Washington also had eight rebounds and four assists for the Musketeers, who improved to 31-17 against current members of the Southeastern Conference since the 2003-04 season.Washington scored seven points in the first five-plus minutes of the game and Xavier went on to lead 21-14 midway through the first half.The Musketeers' lead was down to one point before they closed the half with a 13-4 run over the final 3 1/2 minutes for a 41-31 lead at the break.A 3-pointer from Washington gave the Musketeers a 10-point lead early in the second half and they pushed the lead to 59-41 with 12 1/2 minutes remaining.It was 69-50 with eight minutes left and Xavier led by at least 14 points for the remainder.Jovan Milicevic scored 12 points and Nikos Chitikoudis added 11 points for Xavier (4-0).Popular ReadsJosh Hubbard scored 12 points and RJ Johnson 11 for the Bulldogs (3-1).Hubbard is three steals shy of becoming the ninth player in SEC history to reach 2,000 points, 300 assists and 100 steals.Xavier: vs. Cleveland State on Tuesday.Mississippi State: at UCF on Tuesday. ____ Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full men’s basketball coverage hereSponsored Content by Taboola