The first half that West Virginia put together against UCF is exactly what the Mountaineers want to do. The second half was a different story.
After building a 47-25 advantage and leading by as much as 27 points in that first game, the game got tight down the stretch as the Knights cut the edge to just three points with a little over two minutes remaining.
And while West Virginia was able to close things out, it’s something that this team must avoid as the regular season concludes and the calendar flips to tournament time.
“We keep it interesting that’s for sure,” head coach Darian DeVries said.
In that first half, the Mountaineers played terrific on both ends of the floor. On offense, they were able to get into transition and move the basketball while playing unselfishly. The defensive end also was critical as West Virginia held the Knights to just 29-percent while forcing 9 turnovers.
However, as the Mountaineers struggled to put the ball in the basket in the second half it allowed UCF to get out and run while they also were able to get the ball to the rim. That allowed them to trim the lead down and get back into the game before West Virginia closed things out.
And credit to the team for being able to do just that. While it’s easy to get tight in those types of situations, the Mountaineers were able to stay in attack mode despite their struggles.
“That’s hard when you have a big lead like that and it dwindles all the way down to almost nothing to still stay composed enough to find a way to make the plays,” DeVries said.
The head coach highlighted a pair of offensive rebounds on missed free throws. The first resulted in a Jonathan Powell three-pointer to stretch the lead to six, while the second a pair of free throws. In total, the Mountaineers had 16 offensive rebounds and were +10 in second chance points.
“None bigger than the two off the missed free throws tonight,” DeVries said.
Powell hit a pair of threes when the offense struggled to find its way in critical moments in the second half, which is a testament to his confidence despite being a true freshman.
“What I love about him is he continues to stay confident in himself and we stay confident in him like we’ve talked about all year,” DeVries said. “He’s put in the work and you get that next one go ahead and let it fly. And he did that tonight.”
Powell finished the game with 15 points, while Amani Hansberry added 18 points to go along with what Javon Small gave the team with 25 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds. And that’s exactly what the Mountaineers need in order to open their offense up further which is what unfolded in the first half.
“Good teams find a way even when you give away a big lead like that. Good teams find a way to make sure to come out on top and I was certainly glad they did that,” he said.
The win puts West Virginia in the eighth seed in the Big 12 Tournament while essentially locking up their place in the NCAA field as well at 19-12 and 10-10 in the league. It was a goal for the players to reach that mark, especially those like Small and Eduardo Andre who had never played in the Big Dance in their final seasons.
Now, the focus is to play their best basketball when it matters.
“It’s certainly an accomplishment to get there but like I told our team that’s not the end game. We want to finish the job and that means we want to play as long as possible,” DeVries said.
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