Mission Accomplished
December 03, 2005 06:29 PM | General
December 3, 2005
GAME INFO: BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY
CSTV All-ACCESS: 
BEILEIN POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The objective for West Virginia today in its game against Division III Washington & Jefferson was to take care of business early and get some young guys into the game. Mission accomplished. The Mountaineers held the Presidents to just 8 second-half points in an 83-33 victory in Morgantown.
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| Kevin Pittsnogle muscles his way for two of his game-high 23 points Saturday in West Virginia's 83-33 win over Washington & Jefferson at the WVU Coliseum.
All-Pro Photography/Joe Sadlek |
“I think this served its purpose. A 50-point win … you don’t like that and it’s not pretty all the time but we wanted to get some guys into the line up,” Beilein said.
All 14 players got into the game and Beilein was able to give freshmen forwards Alex Ruoff and Joe Alexander their first extended playing time. Ruoff hit three 3s and finished with 9 points in 17 minutes of action, and Alexander scored 5 points and grabbed 3 rebounds in 12 minutes of work. Two of Alexander’s 5 points came on a turn-around, one-hand dunk that woke up the WVU student section.
However, after game Beilein made mention of a lackadaisical turnover Alexander made that can’t happen against better teams.
“Joe still has to cut down on what is in his game,” Beilein said. “Before he had his dunk there he came down the court very comical, going between his legs and behind his back and kicked the ball out of bounds. Luckily we got the ball back. He sees, ‘OK what coach says does mean something. Keep it calm and I can make plays for myself.’”
Ruoff’s 3-point shots were something Beilein believes the freshman can build upon for the rest of the year.
“Every 3 that Alex Ruoff made right now is just gold for us because now as he makes them he becomes more accustomed to it,” said the coach.
As for the game, it was essentially over midway through the first half when the Mountaineers (4-3) built a 20-point lead and led 48-25 at the break. Kevin Pittsnogle got most of his game-high 23 points in the first half, as did senior Mike Gansey who contributed 12 in just 23 minutes of work.
“I told those seniors before the game, ‘Just show the young boys how it’s done.’ We don’t care whether we’re playing Texas or Washington & Jefferson; we’re going to play the same play. Don’t go in there and do anything different,” Beilein said.
Joe Herber added 10 points, 5 assists and a pair of rebounds in just 19 minutes of action.
Because West Virginia had such a big second-half lead, Beilein was able to experiment some with different defenses.
“We wanted to play a little 2-3 zone today because we haven’t been able to play it. We’ve been working on it because we think we need another defense besides our variety of 3-zones,” Beilein said. “All those type of things sort of come into play.”
Beilein believes the 2-3 zone will afford younger players the opportunity of getting into the game and knowing what their doing.
“It also allows us to play Darris and JD together,” Beilein said. “That makes us more athletic and quicker and it allows us to play a little smaller.”
Because this game doesn’t count on West Virginia’s RPI and doesn’t enhance its power rating, but Beilein says it’s an opportunity to see what some younger players can do in front of a crowd in game-like conditions.
“It’s almost like an exhibition game even though it’s a real game as far as overall record,” he said.
West Virginia’s three team fouls committed were the fewest in school history.
Josip Lucic-Jozak was the only W&J player to reach double figures, scoring 12 points. He also pulled down 10 rebounds. Washington & Jefferson falls to 0-5.
The Mountaineers return to the court on Wednesday, Dec. 7, taking on UMBC at the WVU Coliseum. West Virginia wraps up its three-game home stand on Saturday against always tough Duquesne.
“I think some of our guys that have been traveling so much and are playing 35 minutes a game needed rest,” Beilein said. “And then Monday and Tuesday we’ll get ready for Maryland Baltimore-County and then Duquesne who always gives us some fits.”
