Tuesday, February 21, 2006
WVU Drops Third Straight, Falls At Syracuse
The Mountaineers lost their third straight game and for the fourth time in their last five outings, falling 60-58 at Syracuse Monday night.
West Virginia (18-8/9-4) got out to another slow start, not getting on the scoreboard until more than five minutes was gone off the Carrier Dome clock. Fortunately for WVU, Syracuse wasn’t lighting it up either, and the Orange lead was just 4-0 before Kevin Pittsnogle finally broke the ice with a lay-up.
Syracuse (19-8/7-6) would eventually establish a strong inside presence, as it pushed out to a 23-14 lead before Patrick Beilein rallied the Mountaineers, who came into the game sporting a No. 15 rating. The senior guard hit five three-pointers in the first half, the last of which gave WVU a 30-29 lead at the half.
Beilein cooled off in the second half, hitting just one more three the rest of the way. But Pittsnogle picked up the pace, scoring 13 of his game-high 20 points in the second half. But it wasn’t enough for West Virginia, which could not slow down Syracuse’s inside strength, led by center Terrence Roberts, who hit eight of his nine field goal attempts en route to 16 points to go along with 10 rebounds.
There were five lead changes and one tie in the second half. A three-pointer by Pittsnogle with 3:57 left knotted the game at 58-58, but WVU would not score again the rest of the way. A Roberts bucket in the paint with 2:25 remaining gave Syracuse a 60-58 lead. West Virginia had opportunities, but it couldn’t convert. The last good chance for the Mountaineers came with under 10 seconds left, when Pittsnogle turned from the foul line and tried to feed Jo Herber down low. Herber was open, but Pittsnogle’s bounce pass skipped by his teammate, and with it went WVU final real hope of at least tying the game.
Road weary West Virginia, which has played four of its last five away from the Coliseum will now get a few days of rest before its next game, which comes Saturday when it hosts Louisville. Two of WVU’s final three regular season games will come at home, as it will entertain Louisville Saturday and Pitt on Monday before ending the regular season at Cincinnati on Saturday, March 4.
West Virginia (18-8/9-4) got out to another slow start, not getting on the scoreboard until more than five minutes was gone off the Carrier Dome clock. Fortunately for WVU, Syracuse wasn’t lighting it up either, and the Orange lead was just 4-0 before Kevin Pittsnogle finally broke the ice with a lay-up.
Syracuse (19-8/7-6) would eventually establish a strong inside presence, as it pushed out to a 23-14 lead before Patrick Beilein rallied the Mountaineers, who came into the game sporting a No. 15 rating. The senior guard hit five three-pointers in the first half, the last of which gave WVU a 30-29 lead at the half.
Beilein cooled off in the second half, hitting just one more three the rest of the way. But Pittsnogle picked up the pace, scoring 13 of his game-high 20 points in the second half. But it wasn’t enough for West Virginia, which could not slow down Syracuse’s inside strength, led by center Terrence Roberts, who hit eight of his nine field goal attempts en route to 16 points to go along with 10 rebounds.
There were five lead changes and one tie in the second half. A three-pointer by Pittsnogle with 3:57 left knotted the game at 58-58, but WVU would not score again the rest of the way. A Roberts bucket in the paint with 2:25 remaining gave Syracuse a 60-58 lead. West Virginia had opportunities, but it couldn’t convert. The last good chance for the Mountaineers came with under 10 seconds left, when Pittsnogle turned from the foul line and tried to feed Jo Herber down low. Herber was open, but Pittsnogle’s bounce pass skipped by his teammate, and with it went WVU final real hope of at least tying the game.
Road weary West Virginia, which has played four of its last five away from the Coliseum will now get a few days of rest before its next game, which comes Saturday when it hosts Louisville. Two of WVU’s final three regular season games will come at home, as it will entertain Louisville Saturday and Pitt on Monday before ending the regular season at Cincinnati on Saturday, March 4.
