Wednesday, March 20
Morgantown, W.Va.
7:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
77
vs
63
Grand Canyon
Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Harler's All-Around Play Keys CBI Win Over Grand Canyon
March 20, 2019 09:37 PM | Men's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Jermaine Haley scored a game-high 24 points, but it was Chase Harler's all-around play in the second half that helped West Virginia to a 77-63 victory over Grand Canyon in an opening-round College Basketball Invitational Tournament (CBI) game here at the WVU Coliseum Wednesday night.
It was Harler's big 3 with 8:52 remaining to begin a 22-2 Mountaineer run to blow open a tight game.
At the time, the two teams were knotted at 51. Following his 3, Harler grabbed Damari Milstead's missed 3 and was fouled by Trey Dreschel, leading to two free throws and a five-point lead.
Then, moments later, the junior guard found Haley for a layup to put West Virginia up by seven, forcing Grand Canyon to call timeout. When play resumed, Harler hit a cutting Haley for another basket to push the Mountaineers' lead to nine with seven minutes to go.
Grand Canyon, which made six 3s in the first half, converted just one field goal over a six-minute stretch in the second half as West Virginia expanded its lead to as many as 18 points with 4:13 left on Harler's second 3 of the game.
"He's a good player when he doesn't make shots because he knows what's going on, he gets people in the right places and he does all of the intangibles, but when he makes shots he's a really good player," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said of Harler.
The Moundsville resident also keyed the Mountaineers' late first-half flurry with a hustling steal that led to Haley's dunk just ahead of the horn to give WVU a 36-32 halftime lead.
"Defensively, that's what turned it around," Huggins said. "We got up the line, made two steals and that's what got us the four-point lead at halftime."
Harler finished the game with 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting while adding four assists, two rebounds and a steal.
Haley made 11-of-18 from the floor for his game-high 24 points.
"Jermaine played like we've all seen Jermaine play," Huggins said. "This summer we've just got to get him more consistent shooting the jump shot."
Lamont West and freshman Emmitt Matthews Jr. chipped in with 11 points each, while Derek Culver pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds. Culver struggled once again from the floor, hitting just 3-of-9, as did freshman guard Jordan McCabe, who ended tonight with just 5 points on 2-of-10 shooting.
West Virginia (15-20) shot 40.8 percent for the game, but out-rebounded the Antelopes 49-36 to get off nine more shot attempts.
WVU had a 32-22 advantage in paint scoring and a 12-4 edge in fast break points.
"I thought we came out really flat," Huggins said. "We just didn't have any bounce in our step, I thought very out of character, and then we settled down."
Oscar Frayer led Grand Canyon with 13. Leading scorer Carlos Johnson was held to just 2 points before fouling out with 5:53 remaining.
The Antelopes finish their season with a 20-14 record.
"They got tired," Huggins said. "I don't think they're used to getting chased around that much."
An announced crowd of 5,313 attended tonight's game.
West Virginia will now face Coastal Carolina in a second round game at 7 p.m. on Monday night at the WVU Coliseum.
The Chanticleers defeated Howard 81-72 earlier tonight.
Tickets will go on sale through the Mountaineer Ticket Office Thursday morning at 9 a.m. and also online through WVUGAME.com.
It was Harler's big 3 with 8:52 remaining to begin a 22-2 Mountaineer run to blow open a tight game.
At the time, the two teams were knotted at 51. Following his 3, Harler grabbed Damari Milstead's missed 3 and was fouled by Trey Dreschel, leading to two free throws and a five-point lead.
Then, moments later, the junior guard found Haley for a layup to put West Virginia up by seven, forcing Grand Canyon to call timeout. When play resumed, Harler hit a cutting Haley for another basket to push the Mountaineers' lead to nine with seven minutes to go.
Grand Canyon, which made six 3s in the first half, converted just one field goal over a six-minute stretch in the second half as West Virginia expanded its lead to as many as 18 points with 4:13 left on Harler's second 3 of the game.
"He's a good player when he doesn't make shots because he knows what's going on, he gets people in the right places and he does all of the intangibles, but when he makes shots he's a really good player," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said of Harler.
The Moundsville resident also keyed the Mountaineers' late first-half flurry with a hustling steal that led to Haley's dunk just ahead of the horn to give WVU a 36-32 halftime lead.
"Defensively, that's what turned it around," Huggins said. "We got up the line, made two steals and that's what got us the four-point lead at halftime."
Harler finished the game with 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting while adding four assists, two rebounds and a steal.
Haley made 11-of-18 from the floor for his game-high 24 points.
"Jermaine played like we've all seen Jermaine play," Huggins said. "This summer we've just got to get him more consistent shooting the jump shot."
Lamont West and freshman Emmitt Matthews Jr. chipped in with 11 points each, while Derek Culver pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds. Culver struggled once again from the floor, hitting just 3-of-9, as did freshman guard Jordan McCabe, who ended tonight with just 5 points on 2-of-10 shooting.
West Virginia (15-20) shot 40.8 percent for the game, but out-rebounded the Antelopes 49-36 to get off nine more shot attempts.WVU had a 32-22 advantage in paint scoring and a 12-4 edge in fast break points.
"I thought we came out really flat," Huggins said. "We just didn't have any bounce in our step, I thought very out of character, and then we settled down."
Oscar Frayer led Grand Canyon with 13. Leading scorer Carlos Johnson was held to just 2 points before fouling out with 5:53 remaining.
The Antelopes finish their season with a 20-14 record.
"They got tired," Huggins said. "I don't think they're used to getting chased around that much."
An announced crowd of 5,313 attended tonight's game.
West Virginia will now face Coastal Carolina in a second round game at 7 p.m. on Monday night at the WVU Coliseum.
The Chanticleers defeated Howard 81-72 earlier tonight.
Tickets will go on sale through the Mountaineer Ticket Office Thursday morning at 9 a.m. and also online through WVUGAME.com.
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