Resiliency, toughness carry Bolden against Texas
As West Virginia entered Saturday’s game against Texas looking to get back on the winning track, one player set out to prove himself.
After shooting a combined 0-of-3 from the field against Texas Tech and Kansas, West Virginia sophomore guard James “Beetle” Bolden was on a mission to break free from his shooting slump following Monday night’s loss to Kansas inside the Coliseum.
The Kentucky native went back to work immediately following the Kansas game, hitting the court with fellow sophomore Lamont West to work on jump shots.
“I told myself I’d never have a game like that again,” Bolden said. “I told myself that I can’t let my team down like I did in those games.”
Bolden was far from letting the team down in the first half Saturday against Texas, sparking West Virginia off the bench with nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from behind the arc. However, it looked as if that spark faded out once Bolden left the game at the 7:26 mark in the first half with a groin strain.
The injury was one that Bolden had been battling off and on.
“Tweaked it a little like two weeks ago,” Bolden said. “I went out there and took a bump from (Kerwin) Roach and tried to stop myself and made it worse.”
West Virginia carried a 10-point halftime lead at the time, but there was little to no doubt in the minds of coaches and players that Bolden would return to the game in the second half.
“I kind of knew Beetle was going to get back in. Beetle’s tough,” West Virginia junior forward Esa Ahmad said. “It showed it tonight. He got hurt and he came back in and I can’t count how many shots he hit.”
For Bolden, sitting out for the rest of the game was no option.
“Wouldn’t want to quit on my team because I knew I was hitting shots and playing good defense,” Bolden said. “I just wanted to come back and give the same energy.”
Bolden checked back into the game with 15:52 left to go and helped the Mountaineers leave no doubt who was the better team on Saturday, tying for a season-high 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting as West Virginia outscored the Longhorns 54-29 in the second half.
“I’m a tough kid,” Bolden said. “I like to push through pain and push through all of that and I don’t like to quit on my team.”
Saturday’s win over Texas not only got West Virginia back in the win column, but it also served as a confidence and momentum booster for Bolden and the rest of the team’s bench.
After seeing numerous players step up and contribute over the course of this season, West Virginia’s bench play came to a halt when the team held off Baylor for a narrow win and during its back-to-back losses to Texas Tech and Kansas.
The Mountaineers received a boost not only from Bolden, but also from players like sophomores Logan Routt and Chase Harler against Texas. Harler played 12 solid minutes and Routt helped the Mountaineers overcome Texas’ size and eliminated second chance opportunities for the Longhorns by grabbing five rebounds.
West Virginia proved its capability to play a full game from start to finish and Bolden showed that he can be relied upon to score and play quality minutes even when he’s injured, showing a brand of toughness that the Mountaineers will need to continue to develop as Big 12 play marches on to Fort Worth Monday for a matchup against No. 24/25 TCU.
“It’s hard to beat teams in the Big 12 at their place,” Bolden said. “We just gotta come and be focused and execute Coach (Huggins’) game plan.”
