Men's Basketball: WVU Falls 88-78
August 17, 2004 02:40 PM | General
August 17, 2004
JINDRICHUV HRADEC, CZECH REPUBLIC – The West Virginia University men’s basketball team dropped an 88-78 decision to the Czech Republic National team on Tuesday in Jindrichuv Hradec, Czech Republic.
West Virginia, now 2-2 on its 2004 European tour, had four players reach double figures, led by Mike Gansey’s 18 points. The Olmsted Falls, Ohio, native hit 4-of-5 three-point shots on the night for his team-high total. Patrick Beilein had 16 points for the Mountaineers while Kevin Pittsnogle finished with 12 and D’or Fischer had 11.
The game was the second in a row for the Mountaineers against the Czech Republic National team. On Monday, West Virginia dropped a 76-72 overtime decision to the Czech team in Prague, Czech Republic.
In today’s game, the Mountaineers held a 10-9 lead with 3:53 remaining in the first quarter before the Czech team went on a 13-4 run over the next 2:47 to take a 22-14 lead. The Czech team led 24-19 after one quarter.
The Czech team extended its lead to 31-19 less than two minutes into the second quarter. The Czech team then put together another run and held its biggest lead of the game at 46-27 with 2:38 remaining in the second quarter. West Virginia scored 13 points in the final 2:38 of the second quarter and trailed at halftime, 50-40.
In the third quarter, the Czech team extended its lead to 55-40, less than a minute in the third quarter. West Virginia then made a run of its own, a 28-16 run to close the Czech lead to three, 71-68, at the end of three quarters.
The Czech team extended its lead to eight, 75-68, with 7:47 remaining before the Mountaineers cut the lead to four, 75-71, with 6:39 remaining. The Czech team built its lead to eight, 81-73, with 4:22 remaining. WVU cut the lead to five, 81-76, with 2:21 remaining, but the Mountaineers could not get any closer.
B.J. Byerson and Nick Patella had six points each for the Mountaineers. Tyrone Sally had five points while J.D. Collins and Frank Young both had two. Johannes Herber had a game for the German National team and did not attend the contest.
West Virginia shot 47.6 percent from the floor, compared to 46.7 percent for the Czech Republic National team.
“We don’t like to lose, but I’m happy with the type of effort we had out there today,” said WVU Head Coach John Beilein. “We played against a great team these last two days. This trip has been a worthwhile experience for our guys, both on and off the floor. We can learn from this to help us prepare for the BIG EAST season in January.”
After the game, the Mountaineers traveled six hours to Bamberg, Germany. West Virginia will play games on Wednesday and Thursday against club teams from Germany.
