The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

College Sports

February 9, 2013

Mountaineers win third straight, down TCU

Associated Press

FORT WORTH, Tex. — The last time West Virginia beat TCU 2 1/2 weeks ago, Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins was disappointed with his team’s play. After his 1,000th career game Saturday — a 63-50 victory over the Horned Frogs — Huggins changed his tune.

“I decided (after the first TCU game) I’ve never been through a year like this,” said Huggins, who also coached in his 199th game at West Virginia. “I’m not going to be unhappy when we win.”

Huggins’ team, which has three sophomores and two freshmen among its top seven players, took a little longer to gel than he expected. But those young players were on display against TCU, as freshmen Terry Henderson and Eron Harris combined for nearly half (31) of the Mountaineers’ points against the Horned Frogs.

Henderson led West Virginia with 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range. Harris scored 14 points as the Mountaineers won their third in a row — their third such streak this season.

Sophomore Jabarie Hinds added 12 points for West Virginia (12-11, 5-5 Big 12), cooling off the Horned Frogs who were coming off their biggest win in program history, 62-55 over No. 5 Kansas on Wednesday night.

“I’m beside myself right now,” said TCU coach Trent Johnson, who is in his first year at the school. “Because I’m all about what West Virginia is about. They’re physical and tough — I can’t wait until we get there.”

Harris’ 3-pointer with 8:39 to go, after Kevin Noreen kept the possession alive with two offensive rebounds, gave West Virginia its largest lead to that point at 51-40.

“That was a huge play for us — that was probably a back-breaker,” Huggins said.

Johnson agreed.

TCU trimmed its deficit to seven points three times after that but the Mountaineers didn’t let down, building on the lead as the Horned Frogs didn’t score a field goal in the final four minutes.

Kyan Anderson led TCU (10-13, 1-9) with 16 points, while Connell Crossland scored 13. TCU’s second-leading scorer Garlon Green, who was averaging 10.7 points per game, hit only 1 of 12 shots from the field for three points.

After shooting 60 percent from the field in the first half, the Horned Frogs shot just 25 percent in the second half.

West Virginia went on a 10-1 run in the first half that gave the Mountaineers their first lead since 4-3 five minutes into the game. In the run, Henderson hit two 3-pointers in a 45-second period and Harris slammed down a dunk for a 23-17 West Virginia lead with five minutes to play.

TCU’s largest lead of the half was 12-7, and the Horned Frogs were on a 9-3 run late in the half before Hinds sank a 3-pointer as time expired for a 31-28 West Virginia lead at the break.

TCU led 32-31 a minute into the second half, but then West Virginia rattled off an 11-2 run ending with Harris’ 3-pointer from corner with 14:22 to go, and the Mountaineers stayed ahead the rest of the game.

Huggins, who is 722-278, is in 19th place all-time in Division I victories, two wins behind the next coach on the list, Ray Meyer. He’s third on the active wins list behind Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, who is No. 1 on the list, and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim.



WEST VIRGINIA (12-11)

Kilicli 4-8 0-0 8, Noreen 0-0 1-2 1, Hinds 4-9 3-3 12,  Harris 5-10 2-5 14, Browne 1-2 2-2 4, Rutledge 0-0 0-0 0,  Staten 0-2 0-2 0, Henderson 5-6 4-4 17, Murray 3-6 0-0 7,  Miles 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-43 12-18 63.

TCU (10-13)

Crossland 3-6 7-9 13, McKinney 1-3 2-8 4, Green 1-12 0-0 3,  Anderson 7-12 0-0 16, Butler Lind 3-7 2-2 9, Hill Jr. 0-5 0-0 0,  Smith III 0-0 0-0 0, Abron 2-2 1-1 5, Zurcher 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-47 12-20 50.

Halftime—West Virginia 31-28. 3-Point Goals—West Virginia 7-10  (Henderson 3-4, Harris 2-3, Murray 1-1, Hinds 1-1, Browne 0-1), TCU 4-19  (Anderson 2-7, Butler Lind 1-1, Green 1-8, Hill Jr. 0-3). Fouled  Out—None. Rebounds—West Virginia 23 (Murray 6), TCU 34 (Crossland 9).  Assists—West Virginia 17 (Hinds, Staten 4), TCU 6 (Butler Lind, Smith  III 2). Total Fouls—West Virginia 19, TCU 16. A—5,192.

Text Only
College Sports
  • 051913 KWarriors.jpg King’s Warriors take down Chaos 3-1

    Southern West Virginia King’s Warriors head coach Scott Reitnour had a busy day Saturday.

    May 19, 2013 1 Photo

  • McCartney says he’s returning to Mountaineers

    The Twitter world was full of West Virginia University sports news Saturday, beginning with the revelation that Ivan McCartney will likely be returning to the Mountaineer football team.

    May 19, 2013

  • Harrick was greatest 2-sport coach at WVU

    The late Steve Harrick was the longest serving, most successful two-sport head coach in West Virginia University’s athletic history.

    May 18, 2013

  • Concord wastes 2-run lead in 9th, eliminated from regional

    Concord University lost a two-run lead in the ninth inning and was eliminated from the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region baseball playoffs by the Winston-Salem State Rams, 7-5 on Friday afternoon at Gene Hooks Field.

    May 18, 2013

  • Musgrave named Pitcher of the Year Finalist

    May 16, 2013

  • Concord drops NCAA Tournament opener to Millersville 5-4 in Winston-Salem

    May 16, 2013

  • Crutchfield talks about his system, recruiting, focus

    Jim Crutchfield, whose basketball program at West Liberty University is the nation’s best in NCAA Division II, insists that there’s really no secret to his team’s soaring success.
    The Hilltoppers not only lead the collegiate basketball world in scoring with an incredible 103-point average but also are No. 1 in marginal victory at 25-plus.
    “I try to stay as local as I can in recruiting,” the 57-year-old Clarksburg native said. Most of his players come from West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

    May 16, 2013

  • 051613 wvu marshall ‘It’s been great for the state’

    West Virginia and Marshall are going to continue to meet on the baseball diamond. After a nearly 15-year break in the series, all involved agreed that rekindling the rivalry between the state’s two biggest schools — a series that culminated with a 6-5 Marshall victory Tuesday at Linda K. Epling Stadium — was a solid idea.

    May 15, 2013 1 Photo

  • WVU closes season against OSU

    The West Virginia University baseball team will close out the regular season this weekend against Big 12 foe Oklahoma State at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., and there will be a great deal on the line.

    May 15, 2013

  • Brett Morris will walk on at WVU

    The West Virginia University basketball team will be filled with southern West Virginia flavor next season after Brett Morris announced this week that he’ll be joining head coach Bob Huggins’ program as a preferred walk-on. Morris, the Class AA all-state captain, will join Shady Spring’s Chase Connor, who will also be walking on for the Mountaineers, and Greenbrier East’s Richard Romeo, who is already a walk-on in the program.

    May 15, 2013