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Saturday, December 8, 2001
First-half run lifts West
Virginia over FIU, 74-61
 hris
Moss led West Virginia with 20 points and eight rebounds,
but it was a 13-0 Mountaineer run midway through the first half
that spelled the difference in a 74-61 men's basketball victory
over FIU (4-4) Saturday night in front of 6,952 at the WVU Coliseum
in Morgantown, W.Va.
Taurance
Johnson matched his career high with 20 points
while Rodrigo
Viegas had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Golden
Panthers who lost their second straight game to an opponent from
the Big East Conference.
FIU and WVU (5-1) matched basket-for-basket in the early going.
The Golden Panthers scored the first four points of the game
on baskets by Johnson and Carlos
Morban before the Mountaineers offense got on track and
scored the next six.
After a Johnson basket tied it at 6-6, there were eight ties,
the last at 21-21, with 6:25 to play in the half.
But that was when the FIU offense stalled as West Virginia
reeled off 13 straight points, and ending the half on a 17-2
run, lead at the break, 36-23, behind 13 points by Moss.
"That run in the first half was the determining factor,"
said FIU head coach Donnie
Marsh. "I think we ran into a group that was a little
upset after being upset by James Madison last week. But tonight
they found their touch. They did a nice job in pushing the basketball
and getting the looks they wanted to get."
Marsh mixed things up in the second half, sitting starters
Fab
Fisher and Chris
Carter in favor of senior Haven
Jackson and junior walk-on Carlos
Fernandez.
"I didn't think we had enough of our starters come out
and play with the passion and energy and toughness we needed
from them," said Marsh. "Sometimes guys take for granted
opportunities at this level and it's disheartening to see that.
We have so many guys who really push hard in practice that I
thought that those guys deserved an opportunity to go out and
played some minutes.
"And I was very pleased. If our kids play as hard as
they did in the second half, we will compete very well in the
Sun Belt Conference."
The Golden Panthers and Mountaineers were both 25 of 54 (.463)
from the field for the game, although WVU won the battle of 3-pointers,
4-3. But FIU was whistled for 24 personal fouls, compared to
16 against WVU and the Mountaineers converted 20 of 29 free throw
attempts while the Golden Panthers were 9 of 16 from the charity
stripe and only had two free throws in the first half.
The Golden Panthers now take the next 10 days off for final
exams before returning to play on Dec. 20 against Coppin State
in the opening round of the San Juan Shootout. |