Xavier Hangs On

Musketeers Hit 3 Three-Pointers in Overtime to Advance: Xavier 79, West Virginia 75

PHOENIX, March 27 -- Xavier forward Josh Duncan spent most of Thursday night's game playing the role of go-to player, scoring a career-high 26 points to help the Musketeers build a double-digit lead. But in the waning moments of regulation and overtime, Xavier turned to other contributors, most notably reserve B.J. Raymond, to get within one victory of the school's first Final Four.

The Musketeers, the only team here without a likely first-round NBA draft pick, know they don't have a singular star. They believe they have six. And the 79-75 victory over seventh-seeded West Virginia underscored how many players are integral to their success.

While Duncan, who has emerged as Xavier's best offensive player, carried his team for much of the game, six Musketeers scored at least eight points to help third-seeded Xavier (30-6) reach its first region final since 2004. Its next opponent is UCLA, which defeated Western Kentucky, 88-78.

"Our team showed why we had won 29 games coming in," Xavier Coach Sean Miller said. "This team is resilient. We found a way to win a fantastic game."

West Virginia (26-11) led by six with 3 minutes 24 seconds remaining in overtime, but Raymond, who called himself a "non-factor" in regulation, was only getting started. Raymond scored all eight of his points in overtime, including two three-pointers in the final 82 seconds.

"I have shot that shot [three-pointer] 100,000 times in my life," Raymond said. "It is easy when you shoot it that many times."

With 30 seconds remaining, Xavier had trouble inbounding the ball because West Virginia knew the Musketeers were looking to lob a pass to Duncan. So Stanley Burrell threw the ball cross-court to an open Raymond, who sank a critical three-pointer as the shot clock expired to give Xavier a four-point lead.

"It was just miscommunication," West Virginia's Joe Mazzulla said. "Coach stresses we can't take a play off, and that was the consequence of taking plays off."

But there were several important contributions by Xavier players down the stretch. Point guard Drew Lavender made a key three-pointer in overtime to tie the score at 72 with two minutes remaining. Forwards Derrick Brown and Jason Love helped contain West Virginia standout Joe Alexander, who finished with 18 points on 8-for-18 shooting before fouling out.

West Virginia will have a summer to ponder its free throw shooting in overtime. The Mountaineers missed four free throws in the final three minutes. They also made only 1 of 11 three-point attempts overall; Xavier made 11 of 19.

"That was the difference," Miller said.

Both teams nearly won the game in regulation. Trailing by two with 21.2 seconds left, the Mountaineers went immediately inside to Alexander, who turned, sank a 12-foot jumper and drew the foul. But he missed the free throw, giving the Musketeers a final chance to win the game with 12.2 seconds remaining.

Lavender missed an off-balance 17-footer as the buzzer sounded, sending the game into overtime.

The final minutes of regulation included frenetic play by both teams. On one possession with less than two minutes remaining in regulation, West Virginia missed four consecutive shots, including three in the lane, in a tie game.

"We needed a couple fortunate bounces to go our way," Miller said.

West Virginia whittled what was an 18-point deficit to one early in the second half after making its first three-pointer of the game. Duncan helped the Musketeers extend the lead back to six, but then he picked up his fourth foul on an over-the-back call with a little more than 12 minutes remaining.

Xavier was the aggressor from the game's opening minutes. The Mountaineers did not score a field goal until Alex Ruoff made a driving runner five minutes into action. Brown and Love, a duo that held Kansas State standout Michael Beasley to one field goal in December, held Alexander without a point for nearly eight minutes.

"That's been the key" during the NCAA tournament, Duncan said. "Stay together and not got rattled in tough situations.