West Virginia men's hoops escapes Bellarmine, 62-58
West Virginia took its third victory of the season in a pure battle until the end at the WVU Coliseum on Sunday, as the Mountaineers and Bellarmine Knights went traded blows up until the final moment. It was stout defense that allowed West Virginia to escape with a 62-58 win over the Knights at home.
After a missed shot on the opening possession for the Mountaineers, Bellarmine (2-5) opened the game strong with a three-pointer and a layup from guard Peter Suder. West Virginia (3-3) then answered with two free throws and back-to-back layups to go back ahead 6-5.
The Knights answered by going on a 7-0 run with baskets from three different players until a Seth Wilson steal and layup tied the game up at 10 with seven minutes off the clock.
Two technical fouls and a personal foul against two Bellarmine coaches gave West Virginia six tries in succession from the free throw line where it made all five of six.
Guard Kobe Johnson accounted for three points from the line followed by a fastbreak dunk and a layup while forward Ofri Naveh also made two free throws across the 9-0 run to lead 19-12.
The Knights wouldn’t go away after a 10-4 run going under eight minutes left in the first half and trailing 23-22, led by Suder’s 11 first-half points.
Bellarmine and the Mountaineers continued to go back and forth, trading three pointers with each squad making two layups to bring the score to 30-29 with just four minutes left before halftime.
Johnson was the one who started the contest hot for the Mountaineers, scoring a team-high 11 points. However, it was center Jesse Edwards who capped off the opening period with a layup as time expired, giving WVU a 36-30 advantage at the break. West Virginia also held the Knights scoreless from the field for the final four minutes of the first half.
Edwards then opened the second period with a powerful finish underneath the basket and Suder answered with a continuation of his sharp performance, draining a wide-open three-point attempt.
After the made jumpshot, the Knights went on a 5-0 run and brought the deficit back within one possession at two points, 40-38.
Each team traded punches but not enough to jump significantly ahead halfway through the second period, as Bellarmine trailed only 44-42 with Suder’s layup and accompanying mid-range jumpshot.
Soon after, guard Garrett Tipton scored the go-ahead basket with 11 minutes to go in the contest, pushing the Knights ahead 45-44.
Then, slowly but steadily, WVU answered with a 6-0 run that included four free throws made from Edwards and a crisp mid-range jumper by Wilson to lead 50-45 with eight minutes to go.
West Virginia then went without a field goal for just over five minutes until Johnson broke that drought with a floater. On the next possession, Bellarmine guard Bash Wieland was true on a long jumpshot from beyond the arc, keeping the score close at 53-51 with under four minutes to play.
Naveh came through for West Virginia with his own three-point jump shot with three minutes remaining, marking his career high against the Knights with 10 points. Edwards then went on to score a layup followed by the defining emphatic dunk to make the score 60-53 with under a minute left in the contest.
With around 10 seconds left in the game, guard Ben Johnson and Weiland did each convert on a three-point shot but WVU forward Quinn Slazinski made a pair of free throws to ice the hard-fought victory over Bellarmine, 62-58.
After kicking off the four-game homestand with a tight win, West Virginia hosts the St. John’s Red Storm in its next matchup on Friday at 7 p.m. in the Big 12-Big East Battle. The television broadcast will be available on ESPN2.
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