West Virginia men's basketball drops overtime thriller to Louisville 79-70

Both Louisville and West Virginia -- a pair of programs coming off historically bad seasons with new head coaches in charge -- were likely just happy that they made it to the second day of winner's bracket competition at The Battle for 4 Atlantis after they each upset ranked opponents in the opening round of action.

What the Mountaineers likely weren't thankful for during their Thanksgiving clash with the Cardinals was the fact that they got dragged into their second overtime thriller of a game in less than 24 hours. In a back-and-forth battle between a pair of old Big East rivals, it took five extra minutes to determine a winner. And that extra time was enough for fatigue and foul trouble to rear it's ugly head as the Cardinals were able to slip past WVU 79-70.

The Mountaineers played tough, leading for over 25 minutes of action, but 90 minutes of basketball in under 24 hours wore the team down. A nine-player rotation was stretched thin, and Louisville held WVU's bench to just three points.

The whistle did not go in the favor of the Mountaineers -- they were called for 29 fouls in comparison to Louisville's 15 fouls. Both Tucker DeVries and Sencire Harris would foul out for WVU.
WVU was also outrebounded by Louisville 41-34, with the Cardinals using a number of their offensive boards to convert buckets and out-score the Mountaineers 21-10 in second-chance points.

"The foul situation made it a little tough with the rotation and things, and we've got to do a better job at guarding the dribbler," WVU Head Coach Darian DeVries said after the game.

Louisville guard Chucky Hepburn also played a big role, pacing all scorers in a 32 point performance, shooting 8-of-12 from the field and converting 14-of-17 from the free throw line.

WVU senior guard Javon Small demonstrated for the second time in as many days why he could prove to be one of the most dangerous all-around players in the country. He exploded for 27 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and four steals.

"We were asking him to do a lot," Darian DeVries added. "We've got to give him some more help."