West Virginia led by 17 at halftime against UMass on Friday. However, the second half, which saw them go cold from the field and get sloppy with the basketball, made things close late.
Ultimately, the Mountaineers won, but they are using the win as a learning experience as they are still coming together as a group.
"That's definitely 100 percent on me. There's a lot of plays that you want back after the fact, but saw a press for the first time. We've practiced it before, but live bullets come flying, and it's something we definitely have to clean up. That's on me to make sure to take care of the ball and guys are in the right spots when the press comes. After the first couple, I think we did settle in a little better, calmed down, slowed ourselves down, and then we were able to break it, but we got to execute the first time," WVU's Tucker DeVries said.
While DeVries finished the game with a team-high 17 points, he also had five of WVU's 14 total turnovers. DeVries would also be responsible for two of West Virginia's six made field goals in the second half. WVU, in total, shot 6-for-24 from the field in the second half, including going 3-for-11 from three-point range.
"Obviously, it's nice on nights when you're not shooting it well to find a way to win. We talk about that a lot. The nights you shoot it well, you should win by 30, the nights you don't, you just got to find a way. It might not be offensively, and I thought that's a good case of it tonight," DeVries said.
Finding a way to win, not on the offensive end, is just what WVU had to do. While the Mountaineers couldn't find their way offensively, they didn't let that deter them defensively. From the 8:40 mark until 26 seconds to play, West Virginia held UMass to only three made shots from the field, helping them remain in front.
"Coach always talks about just being resilient, being able to take that first punch, and just be able to fight back. Games aren't always clean, they're not always easy, but at the end of the day, it's the winning team who comes out on top, and that's all that matters. Just being able to dig down, get these stops, get these kills, and just get the right shots on the offensive end, and the game always just ends up. Basketball gods are always with us, as I say. Really just tying down as a team, staying together in those tough moments, and that's the most important part for us," WVU's Amani Hansberry said.
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