West Virginia basketball escapes with 86-81 win over Rhode Island
West Virginia (7-0) remained unbeaten on the year with a thrilling 86-81 win over Rhode Island (5-3) Sunday afternoon in Morgantown.
The two teams battled back-and-forth early on and Rhode Island held a 12-11 lead over West Virginia at the 13:40 mark in the first half thanks to a 6-0 run.
Jermaine Haley scored West Virginia’s first eight points before Emmitt Matthews sunk a three-pointer for his first points of the afternoon.
West Virginia and Rhode Island continued to exchange runs and baskets over the next few minutes and the Mountaineers took a 24-19 lead with the help of their own 6-0 run with 7:25 left until halftime.
A three-pointer from Sean McNeil made it a 9-0 run for the Mountaineers and eight-point lead for West Virginia.
Miles McBride added a jump shot and Derek Culver made two free throws to extend West Virginia’s lead to 10 points and make it a 13-2 run for the Mountaineers with 5:46 to go in the first half.
The two teams went back-and-forth for the rest of the first half and West Virginia would take a 44-33 lead over Rhode Island heading into halftime.
Halftime Stats:
Rhode Island opened the second half with an 8-1 run to cut West Virginia’s lead down to just four points.
More back-and-forth action occurred between the two teams, but the Mountaineers would extend their lead to nine points at 54-45 later on with a three-point play by Culver and two more free throws from the sophomore.
The Rams continued to fight back and would later tie the game up at 60-60 with 9:17 left to play. But Oscar Tshiebwe would answer back for West Virginia, scoring five straight points which included a three-point play. This then gave the Mountaineers a 65-60 lead with 8:05 to go.
Rhode Island would again answer back with a free throw and three-pointer to narrow the West Virginia lead down to a point.
After a three-pointer from Haley and jumper from Fatts Russell, Tshiebwe connected on another three-point play, giving the Mountaineers a 73-66 advantage.
The Rams cut their deficit down to four points, but a technical foul on Rhode Island led to West Virginia's Miles McBride making one of two free throws at the line to extend the team's lead to 74-69 with 3:37 left to play.
West Virginia's lead was later cut down to two points at 75-73 before a field goal from McBride extended it back to four points. McBride again extended the West Virginia lead back up to four with a pair of free throws.
With Rhode Island continuing to fight back and West Virginia holding a three-point lead, Haley made one of two free throws to make it a four-point lead for the Mountaineers. But the Rams would make two free throws to cut their deficit back down to two points after a foul on Tshiebwe.
Rhode Island would then make it a one-point game at 82-81 with 35.9 seconds left after a free throw from McBride with a layup from Cyril Langevine.
Haley made another basket in the paint to extend West Virginia's lead to three points and after a Rhode Island turnover, the Mountaineers were able to seal the win with two free throws from Jordan McCabe.
The Mountaineers will hit the road again and will face St. John’s inside Madison Square Garden Saturday at noon ET.
Final Stats:
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