By Bill Nestor
Every coach is in pursuit of a signature win. West Virginia Head Coach Darian DeVries has already had his “welcome to the big leagues” loss at Pittsburgh earlier this season. Therefore, it’s only expected that he would be in pursuit of that victory that would give his players a higher level of belief in themselves while serving notice that this team has the capability of beating the big boys.
The welcome smackdown was the 24 point drubbing in the Backyard Brawl in mid November. Since then, a rebound beat down over Iona. A week later (last Wednesday) De Vries took his team on a vacation to the Bahamas. It was there that the first year coach garnered that head turning triumph over number three Gonzaga.
That was the first of three consecutive overtime games that resulted in a third place finish of the Bad Boys Battle For Atlantis.
Against the Zags, the Mountaineers erased an eight point halftime deficit and doubled up the favorites in the extra period to garner the win.
Javon Small hit for a game-high 31 points while nabbing seven rebounds. Amani Hansberry netted 19 points with a game high eight rebounds. Tucker DeVries scored 16 points, grabbed six rebounds, and dished out a team high four assists. Toby Okani chipped in with 10 points in the battle.
The next night, West Virginia took on a familiar foe, Louisville. The Mountaineersstumbled out of the gate, but still managed a four point halftime lead. The Cardinals finished strong to force an overtime period. The third session was kind to Louisville. The Cardinals scored 17 points in just five minutes compared to 24 points in 20 minutes of play in the final half.
Small had another big game leading WVU in scoring with 26 points and game highs in rebounds (seven) and assists (seven) to showcase his abilities. Hansberry added 19 points and five boards. Okani was the only other Mountaineer in double-digits with 12 points.
The third game in as many nights was a battle for third place with another top 25 opponent, Arizona (number 24) was a worthy opponent that pushed West Virginia to an extra segment, but in the end, the Mountaineers would claim an impressive win.
West Virginia would get defensive in the clash, with the Wildcats forcing 14 turnovers. The Mountaineers would score 24 points off those Arizona miscues.
Offensively, fans were looking for DeVries to step up and provide point production. He responded with a game high 26 points. His aggressive play to the hoop helped him to six assists as well. Okani netted 20 points and a small number of assists. Hansberry recorded the squad’s first double-double of the tournament, chipping in with 13 points while hauling down a game-high 10 rebounds.
WVU has one more test this year as Georgetown comes to Morgantown tomorrow night. Three “mechanics” games remain before New Years. These “get right” games will be big wins and allow DeVries to “fine tune” his rotation before the start of the year brings conference competition.
These most recent wins provide hope for a promising ride through the Big 12 Conference.
That will do for now! Until next week . . . take care and God Bless!