Some losses make a team and its fans angry. That was the case with George Washington's defeat at Richmond on Saturday. Others just leave supporters shocked.
That's what happened last night when the Colonials all but had Xavier knocked out before freshman guard Stanley Burrell swished a three-pointer from about 25 feet with less than one second remaining, giving Xavier a 66-65 victory in front of 4,648 at Smith Center.
Burrell's shot handed George Washington (12-5, 4-3 Atlantic 10) its second straight gut-wrenching home defeat and its third loss in the last four games.
On Jan. 15, George Washington lost to Massachusetts in a similar manner when U-Mass. forward Rashaun Freeman scored the game-winning basket on a layup with four-tenths of a second remaining in overtime.
The Colonials lost that game because they allowed U-Mass. guard Anthony Anderson to penetrate into the lane before flipping a pass to Freeman.
This time, Xavier (9-7, 3-3) inbounded the ball with 9.3 seconds remaining but appeared to have nothing when point guard Dedrick Finn kicked the ball out to Burrell, who dribbled to his left going away from the basket before pulling up and shooting a three-pointer from the "Tex" Sherman Court sign.
The ball sliced through the net with 0.3 remaining. The Colonials quickly inbounded the ball all the way upcourt to J.R. Pinnock, who caught it directly in front of the George Washington bench but could not get off a shot in time.
"I told the guys when they went out, 'The one thing we can't give up is a three,' " George Washington Coach Karl Hobbs said. "We thought that most likely they would try to penetrate and attack the basket because we were in the penalty. We defended it well and they were forced to take a tough shot. It just went in."
Burrell's shot ended a terrific game that featured at least a dozen dunks and in which the lead changed hands 14 times. Xavier was led by forward Justin Cage, who scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Burrell and forward Will Caudle each chipped in with 10 points.
Forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu, who did not start for the first time this season, finished with 14 points and eight rebounds in 26 minutes for George Washington. Mensah-Bonsu had played with a mask to protect a broken nose during the past two games but removed the mask before the game and was dominant during the first half.
George Washington point guard T.J. Thompson also did not start for the first time this season but played 21 minutes on a sore knee. Thompson, who is George Washington's leading scorer, was slowed by the knee and finished with five points on 1-of-6 shooting.
The Colonials are the Atlantic 10's best three-point shooting team but hit only 4 of 15 last night. Thompson had a chance to ice the game when he stepped to the free throw line with 15 seconds remaining and the Colonials leading 65-63. However, Thompson, who entered the game as a 74 percent free throw shooter, missed the front end of a one-and-one.
"I was standing there telling T.J. 'Just make one,' " Burrell said. "I couldn't believe it when he missed it. I thought we were done."
Xavier's Keith Jackson rebounded Thompson's miss and passed to Burrell, who advanced it to half court before calling a timeout to set up the final play.
Thompson's missed free throw and Burrell's shot represented a stunning turn of events for Xavier. The Musketeers suffered two-point losses at Tennessee and Fordham and lost in triple overtime at U-Mass.
"We were owed that one," Xavier Coach Sean Miller said. "We've been on the other end of one of these too many times this season."
