By Bill Nestor, Sports Editor
The venue wasn’t the one that Mountaineer fans would have chosen, but the outcome was better than what was expected for West Virginia University’s men’s basketball team.
Heading into the season following a win over Wheeling University in an exhibition tuneup on Oct 26, first year head coach Russ Hodge had to think about the idea of playing in April. Normally, that would indicate a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. A late season stumble that saw the Mountaineers lose four of their last six regular season games, followed by a setback to Brigham Young University in the Big 12 Tournament were enough to keep WVU out of the Big Dance.
In previous years, the National Invitational Tournament would have been the next best option, but Hodge and company opted for a chance at the crown!
The College Basketball Crown seemed to be a better fit for this group. The event held in Las Vegas did not get underway until April, providing extensive practice time for a team that was looking for a fresh starts following the difficult finish to the regular season. In only its second year in existence, the College Basketball Crown had only eight participants and the team that picked up three wins would head home with $300,000.
There were familiar faces in Vegas for the Mountaineers as Baylor, Colorado, and Oklahoma were also in the field, giving the Big 12 a strong presence. While the Bears, Buffs, and the Sooners were busy battling on the other side of the bracket, West Virginia was locking up with Stanford. It was only the second time that these teams had ever met, the first time was in 1959. The Mountaineers would stay unbeaten in the series with an 82 to 77 win, but it would take overtime to advance.
The second game brought a tilt against another unfamiliar foe in Creighton. This was the third battle in the history between these schools with WVU winning the rubber match in convincing fashion, 87 to 70.
D. J. Thomas came off the bench to lead a balanced attack that had five players find double-digits. Thomas had 20 points, Eaglestaff netted 16 points, Lorient tossed in 15 points, Huff had 13 points, and Chance Moore scored 10 to put West Virginia in the championship.
Finally, a familiar foe as Oklahoma earned wins over Colorado and Baylor to earn the right to compete for a pile of cash. In a see-saw showdown, overtime was needed to determine a victor. When the dust settled, the Mountaineers had prevailed in the hard fought contest 89 to 82. Huff was the man of the hour, pouring in a game high 38 points in his last game in a WVU uniform.
Sure, it wasn’t the big dance and the attendance rivaled that of an exhibition win over Wheeling, but it is still a positive way to end the year for Hodge. Now he is going into year number twoi with some momentum. Hopefully, a blend of returners and quality newcomers can get the program back to where it once was.
That will do it for now! Until next week . . . take care and God bless!!!
