Mountaineers Cruise
November 18, 2006 06:41 PM | General
November 18, 2006
BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Joe Alexander scored a season-high 16 points and Frank Young added 14 to lead West Virginia to a 66-43 victory over Canisius Saturday evening at the WVU Coliseum. Alexander was 6 of 11 shooting with six rebounds, two assists, two blocks and four steals.
 |
||
| Joe Alexander scores two of his game-high 16 points Saturday against Canisius.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
“Fasten your seat belts because we just don’t know what to expect from Joe,” said West Virginia coach John Beilein. “He could the most exiting play either way. But gradually he’ll slow day and the game will catch up with him because he’s one of the quickest kids I’ve ever seen.”
West Virginia used a 13-3 run to turn a 15-9 lead into a 28-12 advantage during a six-minute span in the first half to take control of the game. West Virginia led 33-16 at halftime and led for as many as 30 points, 61-31, with 6:10 left.
The Mountaineers forced 30 turnovers and held the Golden Griffins to just 3 of 21 from 3-point distance and 16 of 50 overall for 32 percent.
“The man to man was very solid,” said Beilein. “But the 3-zone has given us a different look because it’s so quick – quicker than it’s ever been. It’s really hard for people to see and make plays.
“Now, their guard play is still developing and we took advantage of that tonight,” Beilein said.
Young bounced back from a rough shooting start to make 6 of 13 including 2 of 5 from 3.
“Frank was a solid guy for us tonight,” Beilein said. “They didn’t really make a comeback but when they could have made a comeback Frank settled everyone down and then he hit the big shots when we needed it.”
Senior Rob Summers had an active game scoring 9 points, grabbing four rebounds and blocking four shots.
“He understands what his role is -- what he needs to do and what our expectations are,” Beilein said. “He hustles, he rebounds and he’s doing all the dirty work for us. He has made a living off of hustling and keeping balls alive and he plays pretty good defense.”
West Virginia (3-0) was 25 of 52 overall for 48.1 percent and had 19 steals. WVU, however, was just 10 of 28 from the free throw line for 35.7 percent.
“I’ve never had a team go 10 for 28 from the foul line ever,” said Beilein. “What do we do now? We’ve just got to try and work at it.”
The Mountaineers outscored Canisius in the paint 34-22 and had a 30-14 advantage in points off of turnovers.
Frank Turner came off the bench to score 10 points for Canisius, now 0-2.
“After the Slippery Rock and Mount St. Mary’s games our guys were looking for another game … our young guys were wondering what is this Division I basketball all about?” Beilein said. “Now we’re moving into Orlando and were going into a tournament. We needed to have these three games at home and now we can take another step.”
West Virginia is on the road for the first time this year taking on Montana in Orlando, Fla., in the Old Spice Classic on Thursday, Nov. 23, at 9:30 pm. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
