WVU-NKU to Play Sunday on ESPN3
December 06, 2014 06:24 PM | General
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia looks to get back on the winning side of things with a rare Sunday evening road game at Northern Kentucky of the Atlantic Sun Conference. The game will be played at 9,400-seat Bank of Kentucky Center in Highland Heights, Ky.
The 16th-ranked Mountaineers dropped their first decision of the year last Thursday night in Morgantown when they lost 74-73 to LSU in the SEC-Big 12 Challenge.
West Virginia (7-1) led by 14 points early in the second half before the Mountaineers went cold and allowed the Tigers to get back into the game. Still, WVU had a four-point lead with 1:32 left after a free throw by freshman guard Daxter Miles Jr. But LSU got a driving layup from forward Jarell Martin and then a 3 in transition from Keith Hornsby to take the lead.
Jordan Gray’s driving layup with seven seconds left was the deciding basket.
West Virginia’s full-court pressure produced 19 steals and 24 turnovers, but the Tigers made up for it with a nine-rebound advantage on the glass and by shooting 8-of-15 from 3.
The Mountaineers are expected to use a three-forward lineup on Sunday night consisting of Devin Williams (10. 6 ppg., 7.8 rpg.), Jonathan Holton (11.8 ppg., 8.4 rpg.) and Nathan Adrian (2.6 ppg., 43.0 rpg.) at forwards, with Juwan Staten (15.4 ppg., 2.0 rpg.) and Daxter Miles Jr. (8.4 ppg., 2.4 rpg.) in the backcourt.
Northern Kentucky, meanwhile, is expected to go with a small starting lineup that includes 6-foot-6, 240-pound junior Jalen Billups, 6-foot-5, 225-pound Daniel Camps and 6-foot-4, 200-pound Chad Jackson at the three forward spots, with 6-3, 230-pound Taylor Persons and 5-foot-9, 170-pound Todd Johnson at the two guard positions.
Persons is the only Northern Kentucky starter averaging double figures at 11.3 points per game. The Norse are 3-4 overall following last Saturday’s 79-74 victory over Idaho. Northern Kentucky also shows wins over North Carolina A&T and Ohio Midwestern, with losses to third-ranked Wisconsin, 21st-ranked Nebraska and Eastern Washington.
You may recall Northern Kentucky defeating West Virginia 77-74 in an exhibition game in Morgantown in 2011 with Jackson and Billups both playing in that game.
West Virginia will be the third nationally ranked team Northern Kentucky has faced so far this season.
Sunday’s game will be the first meeting between the two schools; Stetson is the only other Atlantic 10 Sun opponent West Virginia has faced on the hardwood.
Sunday’s game will tipoff at 6 p.m. and will be televised by ESPN3 (Brady Laber and Amber Stocks).
The Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG’s pregame coverage on stations throughout the state will begin at 6:30 p.m.
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