TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - Xavier coach Skip Prosser wanted to make sure his players understood their season didn't end Sunday. It didn't end Wednesday, either.

The Musketeers, who weren't selected to the NCAA tournament despite a 21-win season, held off Toledo 86-84 last night in the opening round of the National Invitational Tournament.

''From Sunday night, they have been in mourning,'' Prosser said of his players. ''I just think the guys wanted to keep playing. The good thing is that we get to stay in the gym with the win."

James Posey, who hit a key 3-pointer to seal it for Xavier (22-10) down the stretch, finished with 20 points. Lenny Brown added 15, Maurice McAfee came off the bench for 13, Kevin Frey had 13 and Aaron Turner scored 12 for the Musketeers. Guard Gary Lumpkin, with nine, was the only Xavier starter not in double figures.

Greg Stempin led Toledo (19-9) with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Brett Fedak scored 23, Art Norman 17 and Chad Kamstra had 10 points for the Rockets.

''They had a good transition game. They just hit some big shots and made some key offensive rebounds,'' Stempin said. ''That was the difference in the game.''

Xavier will face Wake Forest, which beat Alabama 73-57, in the second round.

Posey, who was 4-for-4 from 3-point range, hit his final shot from beyond the arch with 1:06 to play, giving Xavier an 82-75 lead.

''Posey hit some huge shots. Our defense was pretty good but they were a little quicker to the ball and they just made important shots. They deserved to win,'' Toledo coach Stan Joplin said.

Toledo, which trailed by as much as 12 points with less than five minutes to play, nearly tied it in the closing seconds.

The Rockets responded to Posey's final 3-pointer with a 5-0 run on a 3-pointer and layup by Norman to cut the lead to 82-80 with 38 seconds to play, but it was as close as they would get.

Frey had a dunk and McAfee went 2-for-4 from the free-throw line in the closing seconds to seal it for Xavier.

Stempin added a tip-in at the buzzer for Toledo.