West Virginia was looking for a different type of feast than most on Thursday afternoon. The Mountaineers faced Louisville in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament and for the second time in 24 hours, WVU played a game that featured overtime.
West Virginia's holiday on the hardwood would not end how they imagined as they couldn't keep pace in overtime, falling 79-70.
The start was somewhat expected between both teams as they struggled to get anything going offensively as tired legs showed themselves. WVU led 2-0 at the first media timeout, and Louisville didn’t score until almost five minutes had passed.
It would be a back-and-forth start to the first half as Louisville led 12-10 with 7:50 to play in the first half. WVU responded with a 7-0 run and then went on an 8-0 run after a Louisville made three-pointer.
West Virginia was in front 25-15 with 2:29 to play, but they would be unable to sustain said lead heading into halftime. Louisville closed the half on a 7-0 run as the Mountaineers went into the locker room leading 28-24.
The second half was just as much of a slugfest as the first.
Amani Hansberry scored the first five points of the half for WVU as the Mountaineers led by nine, their largest of the second half.
Chucky Hepburn responded with five points of his own for Louisville, where the score would remain.
WVU's lead wavered between one and eight points until the 7:32 mark of the second half when Louisville took their first lead of the second half on a made pair of free throws. Louisville went on a 14-2 run, with Hepburn scoring five of those points.
West Virginia ended the run with a made jumper from Toby Okani, and then Hansberry went to the free throw line to shoot a pair of free throws.
WVU struggled offensively as Tucker DeVries was in foul trouble throughout the second half. Fouls were a theme for the Mountaineers as Louisville scored 21 points in the second half and overtime on free throws.
Despite their struggles, the bucket from Okani, as well as the free throws, led WVU to an 8-0 run as a jumper from Okani put the Mountaineers back in front at 60-59 with 2:00 to play.
Javon Small would put WVU ahead by one with 49 seconds to play before Hepburn tied the game with 31 seconds to play on a free throw. WVU then had the chance to hold for the potential last shot but committed a shot clock violation with 1.8 seconds remaining as the game headed to overtime tied at 62-62.
In overtime, Louisville feeded at the free throw line and near the rim. They made a three-pointer to open the period but would score the remainder of their points either at the rim or at the free throw line.
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