March 27, 2008

Box Score |  Photo Gallery 1  |  Photo Gallery 2  | Game Highlights

PHOENIX, Ariz. - Senior forward Josh Duncan poured in a career-high 26 points and junior B.J. Raymond scored all eight of his points in overtime to lead the No. 3 seed Xavier University men's basketball team to a 79-75 triumph over No. 7 West Virginia and into the Elite Eight of the 2008 Division I Men's Basketball Championship on Thursday afternoon at the U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix, Ariz. 

 

With the win, Xavier improves to a school-best 30-6 on the year while WVU concludes its season at 26-10. 

 

With the victory, the Musketeers advance to the Regional Final for the second time in five years and will play No. 1 UCLA on Saturday.  Game time is 6:40 EDT and the contest will be televised nationally on CBS.     

 

The Musketeers trailed by as many as six points in the early stages of a dramatic extra session as Alex Ruoff made a runner to give the Mountaineers a 71-65 lead with 3:20 to go.  However, XU outscored West Virginia 7-1 over the next 1:20 and knotted the score up at 72 on a Drew Lavender 3-pointer at the two-minute mark.  

 

Joe Mazzulla converted on a driving lay-up 30-seconds later but Raymond responded by draining back-to-back 3-pointers to give XU a four-point edge with 30-seconds to go.  The latter long-ball came off an inbounds play with only two-seconds left on the shot clock.  Stanley Burrell threw a pass from the sideline across the floor, Raymond caught the one-hopper and buried the trey to propel XU into the Elite Eight.    

 

Duncan's career high came on 7-of-15 shooting, including 3-of-4 from three-land.  He was also 9-for-10 from the charity stripe and snared five rebounds.  Junior forward C.J. Anderson added 12 points and hauled in 10 boards before fouling out in the extra session.  

 

Lavender scored nine points and dished-out a game-high seven assists.  He was 3-for-6 from deep.  Sophomore center Jason Love scored four points and corralled 10 big rebounds.

 

XU shot a solid 47.5 percent from the floor but scorched the nets at an 83.3 percent clip in overtime.  XU was 5-of-6 from the field in the extra session and connected on all three of its attempts from deep.  XU was uncharacteristically cold from the free throw line.  Although Duncan was 9-for-10, the rest of the team was just 3-for-11.    

 

The final 9:40 was nip and tuck featuring four ties and eight lead changes with neither team able to build more than a three-point cushion.  Xavier was down 62-59 after an Alex Ruoff free throw but Duncan made a turnaround jumper on the ensuing possession and was fouled.  He buried the free throw to tie the score at 62 with two-minutes left. 

 

The XU defense got a big stop on the ensuing possession and Duncan was fouled when he came away with the defensive rebound.  Duncan nailed two free throws and the Musketeers were lead was 64-62 with 1:30 to go.  After a couple empty possessions West Virginia's Joe Alexander nailed a turnaround jumper to knot the score up with 14-seconds remaining.  Lavender got a shot up as time expired but it clanged off the rim as the game went into overtime.  

 

The Musketeers out-rebounded WVU by a 41-to-38 count and held a 26-to-21 edge on the defensive glass.  Burrell scored eight points on 3-of-7 shooting but the senior dropped five dimes and chased down five rebounds.  

 

The Musketeers stormed out of the gate, scoring the game's first eight points and extending the lead to as many as 18 points, 28-10, after Anderson converted on a driving lay-up with 9:10 remaining in the first half.  As solid as XU was on the offensive end, the team was exceptional defensively. 

 

The Mountaineers made just three of their first 15 attempts from the field and turned the ball over six times in the first 11 minutes. 

 

West Virginia would answer though and sprinted out to an 8-0 run over a 3:50 stretch and shrunk the Xavier advantage to eight points, 28-20, after Jamie Smalligan chucked in a desperation runner with 5:20 to go.  Anderson stopped the run with a driving lay-up on the ensuing possession but the Musketeers led by seven, 32-25, at the break.