ORLANDO, Fla.-With a tenth of a second remaining in the first half, Xavier guard Dedrick Finn sunk a desperation heave from well beyond half court to give Xavier a 34-33 halftime lead.
It was an apt metaphor for the rest of the game.
“When he hit that shot, I said to myself, ‘It’s going to be a pretty long night for us,'” said State guard Timmy Bowers.
Mississippi State tried every defense in its repertoire, but nothing slowed the Musketeers’ vicious perimeter attack. Led by career scoring highs from Finn and Lionel Chalmers, Xavier ended State’s season with an 88-74 victory in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
“They’re the best team we’ve played this year, hands down,” said State coach Rick Stansbury. “If they shoot half that way, they can win a national championship.”
Chalmers scored 31 points, including going a perfect 4 of 4 from three-point range. Finn finished with 22 points.
Bulldog forward Shane Powers suggested the only way the Dawgs could have stopped Chalmers was if “we told Branden (Vincent) to just go out and tackle him.”
Xavier coach Thad Matta said he used the first time-out to settle Chalmers, who was initially unnerved by the Bulldog’s defense.
“I told him to remain patient that his shots would come,” Matta said. “They were keying on him early.”
Chalmers then made six out of the next six baskets to close out the first half.
During the second half, things went from bad to worse for the Bulldogs. With five minutes left, the Musketeers recovered three straight offensive rebounds to set up a Finn three-pointer to give Xavier a double-digit lead.
The Bulldogs never recovered from that blow. Xavier easily overcame State’s trapping defense, forcing the Dawgs to foul in order to stop the clock. Xavier then made 9 out of 13 free throws.
Power said the Musketeers were simply too hot for State. Xavier has won 15 of its last 16 games. Among the defeated are Louisville, then-No. 1 St. Joseph’s and Dayton.
“They came out and shot the lights out,” Power said. “We’ve been humble in victory all year, and we’re going to be humble in defeat. They’re the hottest team in the country right now.”
Power led the Dawgs with 16 points. Branden Vincent claimed his second straight double-double of the tournament with 12 rebounds and 11 points.
Xavier will face No. 3 seed Texas in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome on Friday.