Downer in the Desert
March 27, 2008 08:18 PM | General
March 27, 2008
PHOENIX – B.J. Raymond’s pair of 3-point baskets in overtime gave No. 3-seeded Xavier a 79-75 victory over No. 2-seeded West Virginia in a West Regional semifinal game at US Airways Center in Phoenix.
 |
||
| West Virginia players cover their faces at the end of Thursday night's 79-75 overtime loss to Xavier in the West regional semifinals at US Airways Center.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
“Anyone who was here that saw the game saw a phenomenal game,” said Xavier coach Sean Miller. “I can’t be any more proud of a group than I am of these guys.”
West Virginia (26-11) was nearly able to overcome an 18-point first-half deficit and had several opportunities to win the game. But a veteran Xavier team answered every Mountaineer run to get to the Elite Eight for just the second time in school history.
A key moment in the game came with 4:30 remaining in overtime when West Virginia’s Joe Alexander was called for his fifth foul on Josh Duncan’s drive to the basket.
“Joe Alexander is an impossible match up and that helped us when he fouled out,” Miller said.
Duncan hit one of two from the line and finished with a game-high 26 points to go with five rebounds. Alexander had 18 points and 10 rebounds for West Virginia.
Both teams had a chance to win it in regulation. With 12 seconds left Alexander scored close to the basket where he was fouled by Jason Love to tie the game at 64. But Alexander’s free throw was long giving Xavier an opportunity to win it. Drew Lavender had a good look at the basket from the top of the key but his shot attempt was off the mark as time expired.
In the overtime, Xavier has able to overcome a six-point West Virginia lead with Alexander on the bench. The game turned during a 1:21 stretch when West Virginia was just 1 of 4 from the foul line and committed a critical turnover that eventually turned into Raymond’s shot-clock beating 3 from the corner.
"We're up six and they beat us down the floor for a basket and we didn't make some free throws," said West Virginia coach Bob Huggins. "We had some breakdowns."
Before that Joe Mazzulla put the Mountaineers up two, 74-72, but B.J. Raymond hit a 3 with 1:22 left to make it 75-74.
Raymond’s big shot came with 30 seconds left following a West Virginia missed exchange at the top of the key. With the shot clock showing two seconds, Miller called timeout to draw up a play against West Virginia’s match up zone.
When play resumed Raymond was able to slip free along the back side of West Virginia’s defense where he drilled a wide open 3 to give Xavier a four-point lead. Raymond scored all eight of his points in overtime.
“I was able to get free and Stan saw me and I was able to make the play,” Raymond said. “It wasn’t like the shot was full of pressure – it was just make sure I caught it to get off the shot.”
Xavier (30-6) built an early 18-point margin in the first half on the strength of six 3-point baskets – two each by Duncan and Lavender. C.J. Anderson’s score in the paint gave the Musketeers their biggest lead of the first half at 28-10.
"We were just too stagnant," said Huggins of West Virginia's slow first-half start.
West Virginia began chipping away with Alexander on the bench with two fouls and the Mountaineers using a combination of reserves consisting at one time or another of Ted Talkington, Jamie Smalligan, Joe Mazzulla and Cam Thoroughman.
Smith scored eight straight points for West Virginia and Smalligan added a pretty drive to the basket to cut Xavier’s lead to eight, 28-20, with 5:26 remaining.
After Jason Love’s follow-up basket put the Xavier lead back to 12, 32-20, the Mountaineers scored the final five points of the half on drives by Darris Nichols and Joe Mazzula and a Thoroughman free throw. Xavier managed just four points during the remaining 9:09 of the half.
C.J. Anderson contributed 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds; Xavier had a 41-38 advantage on the glass. The Musketeers were also 11 of 19 from 3-point distance.
“In these games once in a while you’re on the wrong side of the coin and once in a while we’re on the right side of the coin and tonight we were on the right side of the coin,” Miller said.
Butler scored 16 and grabbed seven rebounds, Alex Ruoff contributed 14 and Mazzulla came off the bench to add 10 for West Virginia.
The Mountaineers were just 1 of 11 from behind the arc.
“In West Virginia’s 10 losses the one common thread in those games was that they didn’t shoot the 3 well. They were 1 of 11 and we were 11 of 19 and that was the difference in the game tonight,” Miller said.
"The reality is we played well, we just didn't finish it," said Huggins.
Xavier will face the winner of UCLA-Western Kentucky on Saturday.
