Basketball Recap

OK, I know I’ve been slacking in the hoops department lately… my mindset is still in “football mode” until after the Champs Sports Bowl. After the bowl game, I will be in full basketball mode, I promise. So, having said that, I am going to briefly recap all 4 games I missed, including last night’s game against RMU. Here we go…

11/27, Charleston Civic Center (Charleston, WV)
WVU- 82
VMI- 66

Casey Mitchell scored 25 points and Kevin Jones added 22 to lead West Virginia to an 82-66 victory over VMI at the Charleston Civic Center in Charleston, W.Va.

Mitchell made 10 of 17 field goal attempts, including two of West Virginia’s three 3-point field goals, while Kevin Jones added a season-high 22 points to go with six rebounds.

West Virginia outscored VMI 48-20 in the paint and held the Keydets to just 33.8 percent from the floor for the game. VMI was 23 of 68 overall, including just 9 of 34 from 3.

12/1, WVU Coliseum (Morgantown, WV)
WVU- 71
AU- 50

Casey Mitchell scored 27 points and Kevin Jones added 16 to lead West Virginia to a 71-50 victory over American University at the WVU Coliseum.

Mitchell continued his torrid scoring, hitting 8 of 11 from the floor and 10 of 11 from the free throw line against the Eagles. Casey Mitchell’s 27 leads West Virginia to a 71-50 victory over American Wednesday night at the WVU Coliseum.

In his last four games Mitchell has scored 31, 27, 25 and now 27

American got 19 points from forward Vlad Moldoveanu, who came into tonight’s game averaging better than 21 points per contest.

American shot 36.7 percent overall after shooting 34.6 percent in the first half.

12/4, BankUnited Center (Coral Gables, FL)
UM- 79
WVU- 76

Malcolm Grant scored 26 points to lead Miami to a 79-76 win over West Virginia Saturday afternoon in Coral Gables, Fla.

Miami overcame a 13-point second half deficit after Dalton Pepper’s 3 from the corner gave the Mountaineers a 54-41 lead with 12:17 remaining in the game.

Miami then answered with an 11-2 run over the next five minutes to reduce West Virginia’s lead to four, 56-52, and eventually took the lead on a Grant 3 with 4:02 to go.

Two Truck Bryant free throws tied the game at 66 before Miami scored five straight to push the lead out to 71-66.

Casey Mitchell’s 3 reduced West Virginia’s deficit to two, 71-69, with 1:32 remaining and another Mitchell 3 with 21 seconds left made it 75-74, Miami.

Then Reggie Johnson’s two free throws with nine seconds left gave the Hurricanes a 77-74 lead. Bryant answered with a pair of free throws with six seconds remaining to make it 77-76, but Grant hit both of his free throws after being fouled by Bryant while Miami was tying to inbound the ball.

Durand Scott’s steal with two seconds left kept West Virginia from attempting a game-tying 3.

Bryant led West Virginia with 20 points. Mitchell added 18, Kevin Jones scored 14 and John Flowers added 13.

Mitchell and Jones, WVU’s top two scorers, finished a combined 10 of 32 from the floor. Overall, West Virginia shot 43.6 percent, including 31.8 percent (7 of 22) from behind the arc.

12/7, WVU Coliseum (Morgantown, WV)
WVU- 82
RMU- 49

Just 24 seconds in to the second half and Bob Huggins had seen enough. Out came West Virginia’s five starters and in went Cam Thoroughman, Jonnie West, Joe Mazzulla, Deniz Kilicli and Dalton Pepper.

In a matter of two minutes that group turned a one-point West Virginia lead into a seven-point advantage.

Deniz Kilicli scored a season-high 14 points to lead West Virginia to an 82-49 win over Robert Morris Tuesday night at the WVU Coliseum.

Three minutes after that, the lead swelled to 12, and with 12 minutes left in the game, the margin had grown to 20.

The first half was a much, much different story.

West Virginia (6-2) quickly fell behind 5-0 and trailed 18-17 with 8:13 remaining. At halftime, the Mountaineers were only leading by four and Huggins was so disgusted with the way his team was playing that he drew his first technical foul of the season.

Kilicli scored a season-high 14 points to lead all scorers.

Flowers added 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Truck Bryant also contributed 12 points to go with six assists.

Eleven different players scored for West Virginia with eight guys getting at least 6 points. Overall, the Mountaineers shot 55.8 percent from the floor, including 63.3 percent in the second half. West Virginia also had a 48-25 advantage on the glass.

Robert Morris (3-5) shot just 29.8 percent from the floor, including 25 percent in the second half. The Colonials were 6-of-22 (22.2 percent) from behind the 3-point arc. Yann Charles and Coron Williams scored 11 points apiece for Robert Morris.

West Virginia returns to action on Sunday at the brand new Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh to face Duquesne. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and will be televised on CBS College Sports.