West Virginia Completes Another Comeback, Takes Crown

The West Virginia Mountaineers (21-14) won the Crown Basketball Championship with a 9-2 run in the final minutes of regulation to send the game into overtime, then went on a 13-0 run in the extra period to knock off the Oklahoma Sooners (20-16) Sunday afternoon 89-82.

West Virginia came out of the gates hot, starting the game 8-10 from the field, including 7-9 from three-point range for a 23-11 near the midway point of the first half. Senior guard Honor Huff was 4-4 in that stretch and extended it out of the media timeout to five straight, propelling the Mountaineers to a 26-11 advantage.

Oklahoma put out the fire and cooled off the Mountaineers offense with a 21-2 run to take a 36-30 lead with 2:28 left in the half.

Huff cut the deficit to one with 47 seconds remaining after he was fouled on a three-point attempt, hitting all three free throws and finishing the half with 15 points to lead all scorers, but senior forward Tae Davis was fouled at the rim, hit the bucket and the free throw to give the Sooners a 41-27 lead at the break.

Oklahoma continued its offensive prowess to begin the second half to build a 13-point advantage in just over the first five minutes of action.

West Virginia senior forward Chance Moore started to play down hill, attacking the rim and ripped off eight points in four minutes to close the gap to four, 64-60, with 7:47 left to play in the game.

The Sooners extended the lead back to seven after Davis worked the paint for a bucket, but Huff responded with a three, followed with a drive to basket for a pair of free throws, then senior forward Brenen Lorient found space in the lane and kissed it off the glass to tie the game.

Oklahoma senior guard Nijel Pack answered with a three, but Huff, again, responded with a step-back three with a little over a minute remaining on the clock.

Huff hit two more free throws after attacking the rim to give WVU a two-point edge, but Davis, again, in the post tied the game before a missed runner from Huff as time expired sent the game to overtime.

Two West Virginia turnovers to begin he extra period led to an a 82-76 Oklahoma lead. However, senior guard Jasper Floyd answered with a three and Huff followed with his eighth three of the night to tie the game at 82, prompting an Oklahoma timeout.

Davis was blocked at the rim by senior center Harlan Obioha out of the break and Floyd buried a straightaway three as Huff iced the game from the free throw line to finish with a career-high 38 points and the 89-82 victory.