WVU men's hoops loses second-half lead, falls to SMU 70-58
West Virginia men’s basketball was defeated in its opening-game of the Fort Myers Tip-Off on Monday, losing a double-digit first half lead that deteriorated in the second half as the Mountaineers lost to the SMU Mustangs 70-58 in the first round.
Center Jesse Edwards opened the game with an alley-oop slam to spark the Mountaineers’ offense. However, after a quick jumper, a steal and two more inside shots by forward Keon Ambrose-Hylton, SMU (4-1) jumped ahead 6-2 with only a minute elapsed.
Moments later, WVU (2-2) forward Quinn Slazinski manufactured a steal and created his own 8-0 run after he made back-to-back three-pointers and a layup, pushing the Mountaineers ahead 10-8 with only four minutes off the clock.
Both squads were pushing the tempo early but four turnovers for WVU each led to Mustangs’ baskets, including three inside makes and the go-ahead layup given up in the fastbreak, making the score 15-14 after seven minutes.
West Virginia got up in the air for another alley-oop dunk to Edwards, kicking off a 7-0 run across four minutes to go ahead 21-17 halfway through the first half.
Two minutes later, SMU guard Chuck Harris was true on a three-pointer to break the Mustangs’ drought after a WVU turnover but West Virginia guard Seth Wilson answered with his own make from beyond the arc to maintain a four-point advantage.
Then, Edwards continued his aerial assault with another alley-oop dunk and a hook shot in back-to-back possessions, giving the Mountaineers’ an eight-point lead at 28-20 after they created another 7-0 run with four minutes left in the half.
West Virginia dominated the final five minutes of the first half and finished the period on a 8-2 run while holding SMU to a two minute and 30 second scoring drought. Led by six points from the free throw line in that stretch, the Mountaineers rolled into the break ahead 36-25.
SMU opened the second half strong and fought right back into the contest, as it went on a 9-2 run with five points from Harris. West Virginia also didn’t convert a field goal in the opening four minutes of the second period, making the score 38-34.
Slazinski drained a three-pointer to break the opening drought but Mustangs’ guard Ricardo Wright hit an equalizing three-point shot of his own to steal the momentum and cut the deficit to two points with 15 minutes left in the game. Wright then scored the go-ahead points, putting SMU ahead 42-41 with a three-pointer just a minute later.
Each team traded two point jumpers but a surprising alley-oop dunk for guard Kobe Johnson held the Mountaineers’ slim advantage at 47-46. The Mustangs were able to take over as more time elapsed inside of nine minutes to go, taking a seven-point advantage after eight straight points crushed WVU’s momentum.
Trailing 56-49 after swapping baskets, Wilson nailed a three-pointer for West Virginia but a 17-7 run overall started to show the Mountaineers’ fatigue with a short bench. SMU capitalized with three-straight field goals and jumped ahead 63-54.
The Mustangs ran away to complete their dominant second-half performance, as they outscored West Virginia 45 points to 22 points in the second period alone. The Mountaineers also finished the game shooting 1-for-7 from the field, which led to the 12-point defeat, 70-58.
With the loss, West Virginia is slotted into the consolation bracket of the Fort Myers Tip-Off where they will face off against the Virginia Cavaliers on Wednesday at 6 p.m. on FS1.
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