Friars Dunked
February 23, 2008 09:37 PM | General
February 23, 2008
BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Joe Alexander scored 15 of his game-high 21 points in the second half to power West Virginia to an 80-53 victory over Providence Saturday night at the WVU Coliseum.
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| Joe Alexander throws down two of his game-high 21 points Saturday night in West Virginia's 80-53 victory over Providence.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
“I thought we played really hard and I thought we played well defensively,” said West Virginia coach Bob Huggins. “They score on everybody and transition defense was really important. We didn’t give them any easy baskets.”
The Friars trailed by just six at halftime and were still within striking distance with 11:30 to go before the roof caved in.
Providence (13-14, 4-11) missed five straight shots and had three turnovers during a six-minute stretch that saw the Mountaineers build their lead 25 points after Da’Sean Butler’s stick-back basket with 6:52 left.
“We did a heck of a job guarding them and leaving them with just one shot,” Huggins said. “In the first half they scored 27 points and 10 of those came off the offensive glass. I thought we did a better job in the second half of not just guarding them but also not giving them second shots.”
West Virginia (19-8, 8-6) outscored Providence 27-13 in points off turnovers and 28-6 in bench points.
“Our execution on the offensive end was much better in the second half,” Huggins said.
The Friars had a difficult time shooting the ball, hitting 18 of 49 for 36.7 percent. Providence also had 21 turnovers. The Friars had a season-low in points and a season-high in turnovers.
Providence was limited to just 4 of 11 from 3-point distance.
“When you look at them statistically when they make seven or more 3s they win,” said Huggins. “I thought we did a good job of limiting their looks.”
Alexander was 8 of 13 from the floor to go with seven boards. Alex Ruoff scored 14, Butler had 13 and Wellington Smith came off the bench to score 10.
“(Wellington) has kind of transformed himself from a guy that just kind of hung out at the 3-point line and he didn’t get to the ball,” Huggins said. “You’ve got to get to the ball to make plays and he’s done a much better job of getting to the ball and his position defensively is so much better.
“We’ve got to find a way to keep him out of foul trouble because you look at his stat line - he plays 17 minutes and he gets 10 and five,” Huggins said. “He’s going to foul because he’s undersized. We’re a better team when he’s on the floor.”
Jeff Xavier scored 15 and Brian McKenzie added 10 for Providence.
The victory puts West Virginia into a tie with Cincinnati for sixth place in the Big East standings with 8-6 records. The key Sunday Big East games include Syracuse at Notre Dame and Louisville at Pitt.
West Virginia returns to the road to face DePaul Wednesday night in a critical Big East game.
“If there is such a thing as a must-win the DePaul game is a must-win for us,” Huggins said. “We’ve got to go in there and play well. I’ve got great respect for Jerry Wainwright. I think he’s a heck of a coach and he does a great job with his team. They’re physical, they’re tough and they guard.
“It’s going to be a tough game for us.”
