Men's Basketball: WVU Falls in OT
August 16, 2004 03:45 PM | General
August 16, 2004
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| Fischer |
PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC – West Virginia held a 13-point lead at halftime but couldn't hold on to it as the Mountaineers dropped a hard-fought, 76-72 decision in overtime to the Czech Republic National team in Prague on Monday night.
The Mountaineers, now 2-1 on their 2004 European tour, fell behind early, 16-8, six minutes into the contest. West Virginia then went on an 11-0 run to close out the first quarter and took the lead at 19-16 on a Patrick Beilein three-pointer as time expired.
West Virginia increased its lead to 36-22 with 5:36 remaining in the second quarter. The Mountaineers held a 41-28 lead at halftime.
WVU had a 52-42 lead at the 2:47 mark of the third quarter before the Czech National team starting hitting its three-point shots. The Czech team closed the WVU lead to six, 55-49, at the end of three quarters.
The Mountaineers again put together another run and took a 65-53 lead with 5:34 remaining. However, West Virginia only scored one point after that in regulation and the score was tied at 66 heading into overtime.
West Virginia led 68-67 with 4:28 remaining in overtime, but the Czech National team went on a 7-0 run and then held on to win, 76-72.
Mike Gansey, Kevin Pittsnogle and D'or Fischer led the Mountaineers with 11 points each. Fischer led the Mountaineers in rebounds with nine and also had a game-high six blocks.
Other Mountaineers reaching the scoring column were Beilein (10), Johannes Herber (nine), Tyrone Sally (eight), Frank Young (eight), Nick Patella (three) and J.D. Collins (1).
West Virginia shot 41.7 percent from the floor and held the Czech National team to 36.8 percent. WVU was out-rebounded, 40-38.
"I thought we battled the entire game, and I'm impressed with the effort we gave out there tonight," said WVU Head Coach John Beilein. "I was happy with our defense, holding a good passing and shooting Czech team to 66 points in regulation. We had our chances, we just couldn't hit the shot we needed down the stretch."
The Mountaineers will play the same Czech Republic National team in Jindrichuv Hradee, Czech Republic, on Tuesday. West Virginia will close out its tour on Wednesday and Thursday with games against club teams from Germany.
