NEW YORK, N.Y. - Three of the top four seeds in the 2010 BIG EAST tournament were one-and-done by the time West Virginia took the court for the late session of Thursday’s quarterfinal round. The Mountaineers could have easily added their name to the list of teams to debut and bow out in their first showing at the Garden, but Da’Sean Butler decided he would have no part in an early exit. The senior left his imprint all over the 54-51 WVU victory.

With 6.4 seconds remaining in a tie game, West Virginia was preparing their defense to make a stand against a Cincinnati team looking to avenge their regular season loss to the Mountaineers. The Bearcats inbounded the ball to Dion Dixon, who appeared to travel as he met Butler’s tight defense. When Dixon tried to regain possession of the ball, it landed out of bounds, and West Virginia had the ball with 3.1 remaining and a chance to take the win.

For the second straight game, Jonnie West came into the WVU lineup for the final possession, but this time there was no doubting who would get the ball. It was Butler. It was always Butler.

He rolled off a screen, got the ball and took an off-balance shot from the top of the arc right over a Bearcats double team. The ball hit the backboard and fell through as the clock – and Cincinnati’s run in the tournament – expired.

“When [Butler] got the ball, I just knew something good was going to happen,” said John Flowers after the game. “I just thought it was meant for us to win.”

“For me to showcase what I can do and what my teammates can do, especially at the last second, that was cool,” said Butler. “I enjoyed it.”

So did all the WVU supporters in attendance and his entire team, which rushed to meet him at mid court and celebrate the chance to continue to play for a league title Friday night. There was a time in the game when Butler and the rest of the team may not have been so certain that another day would be granted them.

In a game billed as a battle of two of the conference’s best rebounding teams, the Mountaineers actually ended up on the losing end of the statistic, 39-38. They also shot just 35 percent for the game, but Cincinnati performed even worse from the field, shooting 33 percent.

Butler finished the game with 15 points and six rebounds while Kevin Jones and Devin Ebanks added 17 and 10 points respectively. Jones was happy to be able to rebound from a poor performance in the tournament a year ago.

“I was a freshman last year,” Jones said after the game. “I didn’t really know what was going on. I was kind of nervous playing out here. But now that I’m a sophomore, I have that experience, I feel more comfortable.”

For the Bearcats, freshman Lance Stephenson took over the game late and finished with 19 points, 13 of which came in the second half. Yancy Gates scored all 11 of his points in the second as well.

In the early going, it looked as though Cincinnati may never get a shot to fall.

The Mountaineers bucked their trend of slow starts by quickly jumping out to an 18-4 lead midway through the opening period. Each of WVU’s top three scorers contributed early as Butler, Jones and Ebanks had all of the team’s first 11 points. Along the way, Ebanks fired a ridiculous shot that resulted in a three-point play when he tossed the ball behind his head toward the basket and it fell through as he was fouled.

The Cincinnati offense looked out of whack from the opening tip and West Virginia was completely dominant on the glass. But as anyone who has seen a Mountaineer game this season knows, no lead is safe, and this was the case when the Bearcats finally put together some sort of effective attack.

In fact, the first field goal for the 11 seed didn’t come until 10:42 into the half, but it was quickly followed by three more as Lance Stephenson sparked Cincinnati’s 9-0 run to pull within five with 6:10 remaining. John Flowers, known for his defensive prowess far more than his ability to score, attempted and missed two shots during this stretch.

“We had four transition opportunities and we didn’t score on any of them,” said Bob Huggins. “That kills you. I thought we had a chance to kind of break their back and we kind of let up.”

Butler finally gave the Mountaineers something to feel good about again with a wide-open three from the top of the arc, but the next three baskets went back to the side of the men in black, topped off with an emphatic Darnell Wilks dunk on a fast break that sent the Cincinnati fans into a frenzy.

On the next possession, Casey Mitchell hit a floater in the paint to extend the lead to three, but Cincinnati’s Larry Davis quickly responded with a three that tied the game at 23 apiece.

During West Virginia’s final – and only – timeout of the half, Bob Huggins called for the inexperienced play of junior Jonnie West. Reserve guard Casey Mitchell fired up a three that fell to the wayside, but the rebound bounced out to West, who took a few dribbles and sent home a trey that fell good as the time ran out on the first half of action.

The second half opened much the same as the first for Cincinnati as they struggled to get points outside of the ones they found at the charity stripe. Again, it took deep into the half – just over seven minutes – for the Bearcats to make a basket from the field.

The Mountaineers built up a 9-point lead but watched helplessly as wide-open three-pointers by both Deonta Vaughn and Stephenson tied the game at 51 each going into the game’s final 30 seconds.

There were three total timeouts called in those 30 seconds, and although Butler’s game-winner represented the only points in the final sequence, it was no doubt an exciting end to a day full of terrific basketball in New York City.

Up next for Huggins and his Mountaineers is a rematch with a Notre Dame squad that took out West Virginia on their home court, 70-68, on Jan. 9. WVU is now the highest seed left in the tournament, but that is by no means an indication of an easy road ahead.

For now, the Mountaineers will enjoy this one, knowing much work is left to do.