Dunking the Rock
November 14, 2006 09:22 PM | General
November 14, 2006
BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Da’Sean Butler scored 15 points and grabbed 9 rebounds to lead West Virginia to an 87-37 victory over Slippery Rock Tuesday night at the WVU Coliseum.
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| Da'Sean Butler throws down a dunk for two of his game-high 15 points Tuesday night against Slippery Rock.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
Butler, a 6-foot-7-inch freshman forward, made 7 of 13 from the field, handed out a pair of assists and had a team-high four steals in a fine all-around game coming off the bench. Butler is the only WVU player to reach double figures in scoring in both games this year.
“He’s probably good enough to be out there for 40 minutes right now but we’ll probably keep him in that role where he is,” said West Virginia coach John Beilein of his top sub. “We’re still looking at everything.”
Joe Alexander contributed 14 points and freshman Devan Bawinkel added 13 points on 5 of 6 shooting.
“I was glad to see Devan get in there,” Beilein said. “You can see why Devan can be a scorer. Sometimes his shot may look unorthodox and that’s because it’s so quick that it’s very tough for people to get to.
“He’s gained 10 pounds since he’s got here and I think we’re going to see more of that as he continues to practice and get more used to our system,” Beilein said.
Seven-foot center Jamie Smalligan scored 9 points before being helped from the floor in the second half after turning his ankle.
“I went back there and it looks all right,” said Beilein. “He had it taped at halftime and I think that was good prevention by him. He landed on a guy’s foot and we don’t have a real quick turnaround so we’re hoping in the next 48 hours we can keep the swelling down and Jamie will be able to play.”
West Virginia (2-0) shot 54 percent from the floor (34 of 63) including 41.2 percent from 3-point range (14 of 34). West Virginia had 24 assists on 34 baskets and forced 25 Slippery Rock turnovers.
Slippery Rock took an early 9-6 lead before the Mountaineers used a 15-2 run to build a 21-11 lead after a Butler 3 at 9:55. A Smalligan 3 boosted WVU’s lead to 17, 32-15, with 1:59 remaining in the first half.
All 11 players that got into the game for West Virginia scored.
“Cam Thoroughman has really looked good in practice but right now he’s just behind the other two guys and we’re not going to use him unless we absolutely have to,” Beilein said. “He’s ready to go in if we need him but he also doesn’t want to play two minutes (and lose his redshirt).
“People look at the score and say, ‘Why are you playing this game?’ These games we need to play just to get people floor experience,” said Beilein. “Whether you win a game by a few points or you end up winning it by the score today, it was so good for our players to make shots and go out there and run plays and get things on film.”
Glenn Reepmeyer led Slippery Rock (0-1) with 12 points.
“I don’t care who you’re playing, to hold a team to 16 in a half (second half) we have some ability to guard some people,” Beilein said. “Obviously Slippery Rock is a Division II team but those guys went through a whole season last year and they are going to win some games and get better.”
The Mountaineers wrap up their three-game homestand on Saturday facing Canisius at the Coliseum for a 4 pm game.
