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Thursday, February 27, 2003

By Ray Fittipaldo, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Duquesne gave it the old college try, but No. 13 Xavier won an overtime thriller, 80-78, before a raucous crowd of 4,873 last night at the Palumbo Center.

Anthony Myles tipped in a shot at the buzzer for Xavier to send the game to overtime, and the Musketeers then outplayed the Dukes in the extra period.

The Dukes had a chance to tie the score at the end of overtime but missed several layups underneath in a mad scramble. They maintained possession and called a timeout with 4.3 seconds left. Kevin Forney attempted a 3-pointer but it was off the mark.

"This game was real emotional," said Forney, who led the Dukes with 18 points. "We had them on the ropes. I can't even explain the feeling I have right now."

The final play was set up for Forney or Jimmy Tricco, but Tricco was covered in the corner, and Forney wound up with the ball on the wing.

"We've been working on that play all season," Tricco said. "We thought it was going to work for us."

Dukes Coach Danny Nee praised his team's effort. "It's a very difficult loss," he said. "We played as well and as hard as we can. You have to give respect to Xavier. They dodged some bullets. We couldn't get a stop or close it out when we had to.

"For the people who are criticizing our program, we're making giant strides to being a competitive basketball team. A blind man can see that. We just have to learn how to win. And that's coming."

Xavier (21-4, 12-1 Atlantic 10) won its 12th consecutive game. With the victory, the Musketeers maintained their half game lead over Dayton in the West Division. They have not lost since the conference opener Jan. 7, a 67-59 home loss to Richmond.

Duquesne (9-18, 3-11) lost for the 10th time in 12 games and remained in last place in the West, one game in the win column behind La Salle and George Washington.

Xavier was coming off a 73-72 victory Saturday at Dayton, and Musketeers Coach Thad Matta knew his team was due for a letdown.

"I knew it right after the Dayton game was over," Matta said. "This is a tough place to play. Everyone who comes in here has struggled. We didn't answer the bell. We couldn't guard a chair tonight."

The teams were tied at halftime, 39-39. The Dukes fell behind by three early in the second half but used an 11-4 run to take a 54-50 lead after Forney's fourth career dunk on a nice backdoor pass from Ron Dokes.

The place really rocked after Tricco's no-look pass to Elijah Palmer resulted in a thunderous dunk that gave the Dukes a 60-55 lead with 10:12 left. Matta emphatically called a timeout after the play to stem the Dukes' rally.

That didn't do much. Xavier turned the ball over, and Forney made a 3-pointer for a 63-55 lead with 9:24 left. At that point the Dukes were shooting 63 percent from the field. But they made only 4 of 19 shots the rest of the way.

Matta called another timeout and screamed at his players. This time the Musketeers responded with a 6-0 run to cut it to 63-61. But the Dukes didn't flinch. Freshman point guard Bryant McAllister made a 3-pointer with 6:02 left for a 66-61 lead.

It was 68-65 with 3:29 left after West made one of two free throw attempts. West stole a Palmer pass with 2:00 remaining, and Dedrick Finn made one free throw to make it 68-66 with 1:53 left.

McAllister missed a shot in the lane. Lionel Chalmers hit a 3-pointer for a 69-68 lead with 1:05 left.

Palmer was fouled by Chalmers driving to the basket with 43 seconds left and made both free throws for a 70-69 lead. Dokes was fouled after West missed a shot and made both free throws for a 72-69 lead. West made a miraculous basket and was fouled, but he missed his free throw, and it was 72-71. Romain Sato rebounded, but McAllister grabbed the free ball and was fouled.

He made one free throw with eight seconds left for a 73-71 lead.

Xavier called a timeout with five seconds left. West missed an inside shot, but Myles came storming down the lane and tipped in the tying basket with less than a second remaining.

"I was wishing we made that free throw at the other end," Nee said.

"Thank goodness for Anthony Myles tipping that ball in," Matta said.

West led the Musketeers with 19 points and 10 rebounds. He was joined in double figures by four other teammates. Chalmers had 17, including five 3-pointers.

Duquesne shot 50 percent from the field, but the Dukes were 2 for 11 in the overtime period. Xavier shot 47.5 percent but made 2 of 3 in the overtime.

NOTES -- Xavier had four players play all 45 minutes. ... Only five players scored for the Musketeers. ... Xavier has won the past six meetings and 13 of 15 since joining the Atlantic 10. ... Xavier's win streak is tied for the third-longest active streak in the country. The longest win streak in school history is 15, by the 1987-88 team. ... The Dukes are 0-3 against ranked teams this season and 0-10 since 1997.