West Virginia Holds on to Knock off No. 15 UConn
Morgantown, WV - West Virginia guard Taz Sherman went for 23 points in the Mountaineers 56-53 win over the No. 15 UConn Huskies Wednesday night.
After missing Saturday's game versus Radford, West Virginia guard Sean McNeil got going early, snatching the game's first rebound and sitting a jumper from the free throw line, and followed it with another jump shot from the left baseline to give the Mountaineers the early 4-2 advantage.
Taz Sherman grew the lead to four on a step-back three from the left wing before UConn went on a 7-0 spurt highlighted by an alley-oop from RJ Cole to Isaiah Whaley, drew the foul, and completed the three-point play, taking a 12-9 lead.
McNeil and Sherman traded off three's on the opposite sides to give West Virginia a one-point edge 16-15 at the 11:09 mark of the first half. The duo combined for 26 of West Virginia's 32 points in the first half and headed into the locker room with a 32-29 lead.
RJ Cole heated up in the in the second half, scoring 10-points in just over the first six and half minutes behind back-to-back threes and as a part of a 10-0 run taking a 43-38 lead with 10:06 left in the game.
West Virginia Mountaineers guard Taz Sherman (12) shoots during the second half against the Connecticut Huskies at WVU Coliseum.
Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
West Virginia forward Jalen Bridges ended the run and a six-minute scoring drought with a corner three to get the Mountaineers back within two before Taz Sherman drove down the right side for a tough bucket, then Sherman found Pauly Paulicap all alone underneath the basket for the two handed slam, tying the game at 47 with just under seven minutes remaining.
Buckets became increasingly tough to come by down the stretch, with West Virginia getting much of its production from the foul line although it was a struggle, and the Mountaineers were unable to pull away from the Huskies, hitting just 4-14 from the line after Sherman went 1-2 with 21. 2 seconds remaining in the game with the Mountaineers leading by two 53-51. However, Gabe Osabuohien hustled across the paint to grab the rebound and McNeil was fouled with 17 seconds remaining. He hit both free throws to push the lead to four.
An offensive putback got UConn back within two and a foul sent McNeil back to the charity stripe. He went 1-2 to increase the lead to three, giving Cole a chance to send the game into overtime but came up short as the Mountaineers held on for the 56-53 win.
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