Best Virginia Downs D2, Moves on to the Round of 16
CHARLESTON, WV - Defense turning into offense is a big part of how West Virginia wins games and that's exactly the formula that Best Virginia used on Monday night against D2.
Best Virginia made the game sloppy on the defensive end by pressuring D2's ballhandlers and clogging up passing lanes, forcing them to either turn the ball over or take bad shots. The WVU alums jumped out to an early 15-8 lead and hit 6 of their first 10 shots from the field. Kevin Jones recorded seven of those 15 points including a highly contested three from the top of the arc.
Jamel Morris, the lone non-WVU alum (Fairmont State), provided an offensive spark off the bench draining a pair of threes, and led all scorers with eight first-quarter points. With just seconds left in the quarter, Kendale McCollum was called or traveling which gave Best Virginia a chance to tack onto their lead. Alex Ruoff inbounded the ball, tossing it to John Flowers down the court but was unable to get a clean shot off before the buzzer. Best Virginia led 22-12 after one.
D2 settled things down at the start of the 2nd and pushed the ball down inside early in possessions to avoid Best Virginia's stingy halfcourt defense. Shaun Willett picked up six quick points and Todd Withers also knocked down a three in D2's mini 9-4 run, forcing James Long to call a timeout.
Alex Ruoff hit a three in the corner to halt the D2 run which was followed up by a Kevin Jones slam dunk a couple of possessions later. However, that would be the final points of the half for Best Virginia as they went into a four-minute scoring drought to close out the first half. Best Virginia took a 30-26 lead into the locker room.
At the break, Coach Long noted that he liked the intensity and pressure the team was giving defensively but wasn't thrilled with the ball movement at the end of the 2nd quarter. Best Virginia found itself in trouble in the late minutes of their first-round game vs WoCo Showtime due to a stagnant offense.
The offensive struggles carried over into the 2nd half for Best Virginia and that allowed D2 to come back and take their first lead in the game since the open minutes when they hit a three to open the game.
With the Best Virginia offense in disarray, Nathan Adrian attacked the bucket and put up six minutes to try and get the scoring going again. Best Virginia had a chance to add onto their lead in the final seconds of the 3rd but Juwan Staten uncharacteristically missed both shots from the free-throw line. The score held at 45-42.
Best Virginia did a much better job of pressuring the ball and forcing D2 to get deep into the shot clock in the 4th quarter. The energy was there on both ends of the floor despite fatigue starting to set in. John Flowers and Tarik Phillip each knocked down a three-ball which propelled an 8-0 Best Virginia run. James Long called a timeout as soon as the game clock went under four minutes to send the game into the Elam Ending with Best Virginia holding a 53-44 lead. This set the target score to win at 61.
Kevin Jones scored the first four points for Best Virginia in the Elam Ending but Shaun Willett picked up four points himself and a three from Mike Davis Jr. made it a six-point game. A couple of possessions later, Nathan Adrian drained a three to end it and send Best Virginia to the round of 16, winning 63-51.
Best Virginia will face Team 23 on Wednesday in the round of 16 and play for a chance to move onto the quarterfinals in Dayton. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. EST.
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