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November 10, 2007 09:36 PM | General
November 10, 2007
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Darris Nichols scored 21 points to lead four double-figure scorers in West Virginia's 88-65 exhibition-game victory over Mountain State Saturday night at the WVU Coliseum.
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| West Virginia coach Bob Huggins reacts to a call in the first half of Saturday's exhibition game against Mountain State.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
The game was competitive for much of the night as West Virginia struggled to run its half court offense effectively in the first half. The Mountaineers led by just four, 22-18 with 7:47 left in the first half before breaking out on an 8-1 run to grab a 30-19 lead on a Joe Alexander jumper with 5:51 remaining.
WVU led 43-32 at the half on the strength of 45 percent shooting in the first half. The Mountaineers connected on 8 of 18 3-point attempts in the first period.
“We did not run our offense well in the first half,” West Virginia Coach Bob Huggins said. “We have to take better shots. Every time we started to make a run somebody took a bad shot which gave them a better shot at the other end.”
Mountain State wouldn’t go away in the second half and trailed just 63-57 after a Tyrice Watkins 3 with 7:46 remaining. The Cougars consistently used dribble penetration to drive to the basket and then kick to open shooters. Huggins chose this opponent because he knew the Beckley, W.Va.-based school could be competitive with his team.
“We just needed to play somebody else and I wanted to play somebody I thought could challenge us,” Huggins said. “I thought they played really hard. They are good at playing off the dribble and they spread you because they can make shots and rebound well. I thought it was good for us.”
After Watkins’ 3, the Mountaineers clamped down defensively and ran their offense more smoothly, sparking a 19-5 run over the next five minutes to take a 82-62 lead on two Da’Sean Butler free throws with 2:37 remaining.
“I thought our shot selection got a lot better in the second half and we did a better job of making rotations and getting to the ball on the defensive end,” Huggins said.
Alexander scored 19 points and grabbed six rebounds, Butler contributed 16 points and eight boards, and Alex Ruoff added 14 points and seven rebounds to lead the Mountaineers. Watkins led Mountain State with 19.
West Virginia opens the regular season on Friday, Nov. 16, against Arkansas-Monticello in the opening game of the legends Classic, presented by Stubhub! Fans can watch the game via online pay-per-view through MSNsportsNET.com for just $11.95, or you can order the five-game online pay-per-view package for just $47.95. Click HERE for more details.
