West, Xavier the best against No. 15 Creighton

CINCINNATI (AP) -- As Xavier coach Thad Matta started drawing a play on his dry-erase board, David West made a suggestion: Just get him the ball.

West got it and hit a bank shot with 4 seconds left Tuesday night, giving No. 19 Xavier a 75-73 victory over No. 15 Creighton that ended the Bluejays' best run in 60 years.

Kyle Korver tied the school record with eight 3-pointers as he brought Creighton (10-1) back from a late 10-point deficit. All he could do was watch helplessly as West got the ball and Xavier (9-2) got the win.

``I kind of guessed he'd get the ball at the end,'' said Korver, who had a career-high 32 points. ``He'd been killing us all night.''

West had a season-high 28 points and the best suggestion of the night. As Matta drew up an inbound play during a timeout with 6.7 seconds left and the score tied at 73, West spoke up.

``They'd gone to a smaller lineup because I was quicker than their big guys,'' West said. ``I told coach, 'Why don't you get me to the sideline -- I've got 6 or 7 inches on my guy -- and I'll get it to the basket.'''

Keith Jackson made the inbound pass from midcourt directly to West, who did exactly what he said he would. The Preseason All-America drove and banked it in cleanly over two defenders.

Tyler McKinney's off-balance 3-point shot went high off the backboard at the buzzer, ending Creighton's longest winning streak since 1942-43. It was the fifth time in school history that the Bluejays had won 10 straight.

Coach Dana Altman blamed himself for West's open shot and Creighton's poor shot at the end.

``I did a poor job late of getting our team organized,'' Altman said. ``I didn't do a good job of setting up the defense, and I didn't do a good job on the play in the last 4 seconds.

``I thought Tyler could get a shot, but West pushed him more to the sideline than I thought he would, and we didn't get the shot we hoped.''

Xavier had to go deep into its bench because of foul troubles and injury. Starting guard Lionel Chalmers suffered a severe foot injury in the first half, forcing Jackson to get into the game and carry the load.

Jackson was 7-of-7 from the field for a career-high 17 points, overcoming a bruised hip that temporarily forced him to the bench as well.

While Creighton came into the game riding its best streak in 60 years, Xavier had the feel of a team on the verge of unraveling.

Following an easy win over Eastern Kentucky on Saturday night, West complained that some of the Musketeers were playing selfishly. He also warned Xavier would get whipped by Creighton if it didn't start pulling together.

On Monday, backup shooting guard Dave Young was kicked off the team for philosophical differences with Matta. As the Musketeers took the court, a sign above their tunnel said: ``Remember, All For One and One For All.''

With the injuries, Xavier had to use just about everyone.

``I feel like I played tonight,'' Matta said. ``I thought I was going to have to for a second.

``Not that this game is any more important, but I've never been prouder of a group of guys, for them to come together and stick together the way they did tonight.''

Xavier could have used Young four minutes into the game, when Chalmers severely hurt his right foot. Chalmers, the Musketeers' third-leading scorer at 13.8 points per game, couldn't put full weight on the ankle as he was helped off the court at halftime.

Jackson gave Xavier a spark, hitting his first four shots for eight points. Then Jackson hit the floor hard after going high in the air trying to block a shot. He joined Chalmers on the bench for a while.

There were hard-nosed plays by both teams from the outset, setting the tone for the game. Creighton's Joe Dabbert and Xavier's Will Caudle wrestled on the floor as they got tangled up going for a loose ball, but no fouls were called.

It was 35-all at the end of a first half that featured nine ties and six lead changes. Xavier had the biggest lead of the half at 22-16.

Jackson started the second half, hit a jumper during an opening 8-2 spurt, and dove over the media table saving a loose ball, getting tangled up in folding chairs on the floor while the play went on. Creighton got the ball, but couldn't score despite its 5-on-4 advantage.

Caudle's putback put Xavier up 65-55 with 4:09 to go, but Korver's long-range shooting brought Creighton back.