WVU Wins Opener
November 16, 2007 10:24 PM | General
November 16, 2007
BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Alex Ruoff scored 17 points to lead four West Virginia double-figure scorers in an 81-53 season-opening victory over Arkansas-Monticello in the opening game of the Legends Classic played at the WVU Coliseum.
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| Joe Alexander slams home two of his 12 points against Arkansas-Monticello in the opening game of the Legends Classic at the Coliseum Friday night.
Joe Sadlek/All- pro Photography |
The Mountaineers (1-0) shot 46.3 percent from the field and had a 41-30 advantage on the glass against the Boll Weevils, now 0-1.
“It’s (rebounding) going to be an all-time thing,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. “We’re not consistent enough with anything. That was better, but we’re not consistent enough. They are thinking about a lot of things and rebounding the ball is pretty straightforward.”
Da'Sean Butler contributed 14 and Joe Alexander and Jamie Smalligan scored 12 each for West Virginia, victorious in Huggins' first game back on the Mountaineer sidelines since his playing days in the mid 1970s.
“My dad was here, my sister was here and my brother,” said Huggins. “There are so many people through the years that I’ve remained close with. It’s good to be around friends and family and it’s good to be at a university that you love.
“It’s always been a part of the family. I want to represent the university and I want to win,” Huggins said. “We haven’t won a Big East championship or a national championship and people deserve it here.”
Seven-footer Jamie Smalligan attacked the glass for six rebounds, three short of Butler’s team-lead of nine.
“The first exhibition game Jamie had exactly as many rebounds as a dead man,” Huggins joked.
“We’re getting better,” Huggins said. “The reality is we’re not good enough to take plays off. We can’t do that and we’re not good enough to do that.”
Deron Brown and Giovanni Marchetti scored 13 points each for Arkansas-Monticello.
West Virginia returns to action on Sunday, facing Prairie View A&M at 3 p.m. at the WVU Coliseum. Fans can watch the game live through MSN's online pay-per-view package. Click here to sign up.
