By Dustin Dow
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Keith Jackson cannot believe that he is called for a foul. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

For the second time in as many games, 13th-ranked Xavier escaped almost certain defeat to a sub-.500 opponent with a last-second tip-in.

Senior David West was the hero Saturday against George Washington after his desperate attempt with .1 seconds left fell through the hoop, giving Xavier a 71-70 victory. Officials reviewed video for two minutes before ruling that West's tip counted.

Once official Ken Clark signaled the shot was good, pandemonium swept through the sold-out Cintas Center crowd, which saw Xavier improve to 22-4 and 13-1 in the Atlantic 10 with its 13th consecutive win.

Xavier players, who huddled nervously near their bench while the shot was under review, celebrated on the court before sprinting to their locker room. George Washington's (10-16, 4-11) players lay on the floor in disbelief.

GW players and Xavier head coach Thad Matta look on as officials review the tape. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

Perhaps Wednesday's close call at Duquesne did not give Xavier an adequate boost after all. In that contest, Anthony Myles' last-second tip forced overtime before the Musketeers pulled out the win.

"If this is not enough, nothing is going to do it," said Lionel Chalmers, who echoed a common Xavier sentiment suggesting the Musketeers are getting too comfortable just hanging on to win, as opposed to putting teams away.

The Musketeers had George Washington down by 10 points, 60-50, with 8:36 to play when George Washington scored nine straight points. Xavier briefly went back up by six points, but George Washington's Chris Monroe made a 3-pointer with 2:05 left that narrowed the margin back to one, 67-66. Fifty seconds later, Tamal Forchion drove the lane and hit a layup while being fouled by Myles. He missed the free throw, but George Washington had its first lead of the second half.

David West celebrates the Musketeers' win. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

On the ensuing fast break, Chalmers found Keith Jackson on the baseline, and the sophomore hit a 16-foot jumper that put Xavier back ahead, 69-68. Then the Colonials set up a baseline shot for Monroe, which he made over West and Romain Sato with 10 seconds left.

Coming out of a timeout with 7.6 seconds left, Xavier wanted to get West a shot on the low block.

"We did exactly what Coach drew up," said West, who scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

But two George Washington players double-teamed West. His pass to Myles was deflected and ended up in Chalmers' hands at the free throw line with two seconds left. Chalmers' shot was short and tapped once by West on the right side of the hoop. Then he tipped it back with his left hand.

"I just flipped it up there and smacked it off the glass," West said. "I heard the horn, and I knew I had already hit the ball."

But the officials didn't see it that way, and the shot was waved off immediately.

"I ran right up to (an official) and I was saying it was a good basket," Chalmers said.

David West fights his way to the rim. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

The video tape proved Chalmers right, but that didn't make it any easier for West, who thought Xavier had lost.

"I was just like, 'Dang,' " West said. His emotions changed on the court minutes later when he found out the shot counted.

Though relieved, Xavier players were less than happy with their effort for the second straight game.

"We've won a whole bunch of games in a row," West said. "Maybe guys are getting comfortable. We're not going out there and playing our type of basketball anymore. Our last two games, a bounce here, a bounce there, we lose ... We're just surviving right now."

There are plenty of stats, such as Xavier's 18 turnovers, George Washington's 13 offensive rebounds and the Colonials' 48 percent second-half shooting percentage, that back up West's claim that Xavier is starting to slide by. Still, the Musketeers have won 13 games in a row, the third-longest streak in the nation.

"I don't know if there's a team in the country that has won 13 straight games that needs to turn something around," said Xavier coach Thad Matta.

Added Matta: "I told them, 'You can't ever get tired of winning.' You see it all the time in life. When you get success, you look for a shortcut. All of a sudden you get a little bit soft and say: 'It's OK if we lose, because we have the third-longest winning streak in the country. It's somebody else's turn.' You can't allow yourself to do that if you're an ultra-competitor."

E-mail ddow@enquirer.com

G.Wash.	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
Hall	30	3	5	0	0	5	1	3	3	7
Forchion	24	4	10	2	6	4	2	3	0	10
Mensah-Bonsu	30	3	10	3	6	7	0	4	2	9
Monroe	30	5	11	4	6	3	3	2	4	16
Thompson	38	5	11	2	2	2	5	3	2	16
Williams	27	5	9	1	1	4	1	3	2	11
Kireev	6	0	1	1	2	0	0	1	0	1
Cowan	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Collucci	10	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0
Akingbade	3	0	1	0	0	2	0	1	0	0
Totals	200	25	59	13	23	29	13	21	15	70

Team rebounds - 1.

Xavier	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
Sato	39	7	13	2	2	8	2	4	1	20
West	38	10	14	3	5	11	5	3	3	23
Myles	19	1	4	0	0	3	2	3	6	2
Chalmers	32	6	11	0	0	1	2	4	3	15
Finn	38	0	5	2	4	3	7	3	4	2
Smith	8	1	1	0	3	3	1	2	1	2
Jackson	16	3	8	1	2	4	0	3	0	7
Caudle	10	0	1	0	0	2	1	0	0	0
Totals	200	28	57	8	16	37	20	22	18	71

Team rebounds - 2.

George Washington	34	36	-70
Xavier	39	32	-71

3-pointers - GW 7-15 (Hall 1-2, Monroe 2-5, Thompson 4-7, Kireev 0-1), XU 7-16 (Sato 4-6, West 0-1, Chalmers 3-6, Finn 0-3). Technicals - GW 1 (bench). Officials - Clark, Anderson, Tyberski. Attendance - 10,250.

ATLANTIC 10 STANDINGS

East

	Conf.		Overall
	W	L	W	L
St. Joseph's	11	3	21	4
Temple	9	5	12	13
St. Bonaventure	7	7	13	14
Rhode Island	7	7	15	10
UMass	5	8	11	15
Fordham	1	13	2	23

West

	Conf.
	W	L	W	L
Xavier	13	1	22	4
Dayton	13	2	21	5
Richmond	7	7	13	12
La Salle	5	9	11	14
G. Washington	4	11	10	16
Duquesne	3	12	9	19

Saturday's Games

Dayton 69, Fordham 64

La Salle 71, Duquesne 66

Xavier 71, George Washington 70

Temple 78, St. Bonaventure 77

Saint Joseph's 75, Richmond 59

Today's Game

Massachusetts at Rhode Island,

2 p.m.