ED. NOTE: Creighton legend Kyle Korver broke the NBA record for consecutive games with a three-pointer last week, and that caused us to remember this piece that originally appeared on Polyfro.com in December of 2007. With the Jays on a nine-day break between games, we thought it was a good time to reprint the article here.
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Creighton and Xavier have played an extraordinarily close series over the years, with Xavier holding a 9-6 edge. Look at some of these scores:
1938: Creighton 34, Xavier 29
1941: Creighton 42, Xavier 39
1960: Xavier 75, Creighton 73
1985: Xavier 56, Creighton 53
1986: Creighton 74, Xavier 73
2001: Xavier 72, Creighton 65
2002: Xavier 75, Creighton 73
2004: Creighton 73, Xavier 72
2005: Creighton 61, Xavier 59
2006: Creighton 73, Xavier 67
That’s a whole lot of great games, isn’t it? But the best might very well have taken place on New Years Eve 2002, when #15 Creighton travelled to Cincinnati to take on #19 Xavier. Seniors Kyle Korver and David West elevated their game to ridiculous levels, in an epic battle of All-Americans that came down to a last second shot in a tie game.
Creighton’s Kyle Korver guards Xavier’s David West in their classic 2002 New Years Eve battle. (Photo credit: AP)
Creighton came into the New Years Eve tilt riding the wave of their best start in 60 years, and entered the game 10-0 and ranked 15th in the country. Meanwhile, Xavier entered the game as a team in turmoil. Sure, they had beaten Eastern Kentucky 84-60 three days prior, and sure, they were ranked in the Top 20. But after that game their best player and All-American candidate, David West, called the team out. He told the media that some of his teammates were playing selfishly, and that they would get “whipped by Creighton” if it didn’t start pulling together.
Then the day before the game, Dave Young, a backup shooting guard, was kicked off the team. Shorthanded, Xavier took the court to a sign reading “All For One, One For All”, in hopes of rallying together. Coach Thad Matta hoped his starting guards could stay out of foul trouble, as their backups were inexperienced. As luck would have it, Young’s absence hurt the team almost immediately, when starting guard Lionel Chalmers severely hurt his foot early in the game. Sophomore Keith Jackson was pressed into duty, and he responded with the best game of his career.
But it was Kyle Korver and David West who headlined the evening, in front of 10,250 spectators but no TV audience as the game, like most Creighton games back then, was not televised.
The Jays jumped out to an early 7-4 lead before Chalmers left with his foot injury. Jackson entered the game and immediately scored six unanswered points to give Xavier a 10-4 advantage with 14 minutes to go in the first stanza. The teams would trade runs over the remainder of the half; Xavier took a 22-16 lead at the under-8 timeout, only to see Creighton run off a 6-0 run to tie it. Xavier ran the lead back out to 31-26, but Creighton rallied to knot it at 33-33. The teams went into the locker room tied at 35-all, after a half that featured 9 ties and 6 lead changes.
Korver had been guarded by one of the nation’s best perimeter defenders, Romain Sato, for most of the first half, and was limited to just six points on 2-6 shooting. DeAnthony Bowden paced the Jays with 10 points, while David West led the Musketeers with 12 points.
At the beginning of the second half, Xavier put together a 12-4 run to take a 47-39 lead. Of course, Creighton answered by ratcheting up their press and holding Xavier scoreless for the next four-and-a-half minutes, during which the Jays cut the lead to 47-44. Like a great heavyweight bout, Xavier swung back hard again, this time utilizing a pair of free throws by Romain Sato and a three from Dedrick Finn to increase their lead to 52-44.
Korver scored the next five points on consecutive possessions to bring the Jays to within three at 52-49. David West answered by scoring the next four points on consecutive possessions to re-build the Xavier lead to 56-49. Not backing down from the challenge, Michael “The Mosquito” Lindeman hit back-to-back threes for the Jays, and they cut the lead to 56-55 with just over seven minutes left.
An incorrigible David West scored five more points on a three-point-play and a jumper, Jackson got a steal and layup, Will Caudle got an easy putback, and suddenly it was 65-55 Xavier after a 9-0 run; worse for the Jays, there was just 4:08 left. Tyler McKinney tried to spark a comeback with a layup at the four-minute mark, but West answered by drawing a foul and sinking a free throw. It was 66-59 Xavier.
It was at this point in the game where Kyle Korver’s legend was cemented, even in defeat.
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The run began with Korver drawing a foul and hitting two free throws. 66-61 Xavier.
Then Sato drove inside and drew a foul for the Musketeers, sinking both free throws. 68-61 Xavier, 2:43 left.
Korver then hit three-pointers on three consecutive possessions (!), while Xavier could manage just one free throw make. Suddenly, improbably, amazingly, it was 69-68 Xavier with 75 seconds remaining.
Jackson drew a foul on Xavier’s next possession, and sank both free throws. 71-68 Xavier. 44 seconds remaining.
Korver promptly hit ANOTHER three-pointer on the next possession. Tied at 71, 36 seconds remaining!
West, not to be outdone, hit a jumper with 23 seconds left to give Xavier a 73-71 lead. Kellen Milliner answered for the Jays with two clutch free throws, and it was 73-73 with 11 seconds left.
In the huddle, David West had a suggestion, as he recounted to the Associated Press after the game. “They’d gone to a smaller lineup because I was quicker than their big guys. 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.’ ” Reports of him telling Thad Matta, “Korver is not human, he is like a piece of iron! Whatever he hits, he destroys! I must break him!” were mostly exaggerated. Also, in case you hadn’t noticed, Rocky IV is a dominant movie.
Back to game action. Jackson inbounded the ball to West, who dribbled ten feet and shot over the outstretched arms of Tyler McKinney. He banked it in, and Xavier had the lead 75-73. After McKinney missed a desperation half-court shot at the buzzer, Xavier escaped with the win.
Dana Altman blamed himself for the loss, according to a quote attributed to him in the AP’s recap of the game. “I did a poor job late of getting our team organized. 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.”
Korver finished with 32 points, 4 assists and 6 rebounds, shooting a sick 8-13 from behind the arc — a then-school record for threes. He would break the record a scant two weeks later in a game in Omaha against Evansville, when he made 9-13 for 31 points. West finished with 28 points and 11 rebounds. Both were drafted in that spring’s NBA Draft; West went to the Hornets, Korver to the Sixers.
An impressed Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News described the final moments in his January 13, 2003 column:
“When Xavier point guard Dedrick Finn had to switch over Korver, things changed. Korver immediately launched his first successful 3-pointer from the left wing. Korver did the same thing moments later over XU center Will Caudle. After Sato unsuccessfully attempted to trap a Creighton ballhandler in the backcourt, the ball was forwarded to Korver for another long-range jumper.
As the Bluejays attempted to recover from a 10-point deficit in the final four minutes, Xavier defenders switched assignments when Creighton executed handoffs in its’ weave. That twice left Korver matched against All-American big man David West. Korver slung in 3-pointers each time, the second tying the game at 71 with 36 seconds left. That West won the game for Xavier by driving for a game-winning layup did not diminish the genius of Korver’s performance.”
Three days after the game, Xavier would lose by 11 at #1 Alabama, 69-58. Lionel Chalmers, whose foot injury opened the door for Keith Jackson to enter the game, would miss a month with the injury. The Musketeers would climb as high as #14 in the polls, finished 26-6 and earned a #3 seed in the NCAA Tournament’s South Regional. They defeated Troy State in the first round, but were upset by defending National Champion Maryland in the Round of 32.
After Xavier, Creighton dropped to #16 in the polls before rattling off five consecutive wins against Valley opponents. They would climb as high as #10 in the polls, winning the MVC Tournament and earning a #5 seed in the NCAA Tourney. They ended the season 29-5.