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West Virginia Vs. Marshall: After Ugly First Half, Mountaineers Trail Herd By 14

This game isn't in high def.  Fitting I guess.  All of Charleston's still in low def.

  • Mountaineers win the tip and have an unforced turnover on possession number one.  As we call it: business as usual.
  • The first few minutes are a barrage of what you hate to see as a Mountaineer fan.  A Truck turnover (complete with redeeming three), a stupid foul from Kevin Jones and a textbook Kilicli charge.
  • At the second television timeout, it's tied 8-8.  It's pretty brutal.  Seriously, if you're reading this in hopes to catch up on a game you can't watch, don't sweat it.  You're not missing much but a barrage of turnovers and brutal misses from Deniz Kilicli and Kevin Jones.
  • Truck's two quick turnovers have landed him a seat next to Huggins and Joe Mazzulla's running the show now.  I wish I could tell you the offense is humming right now, but it's not.  It seems that this team's two biggest obstacles seem to appear no matter the competition.
  • Kilicli scores on back to back to back possessions, and the offense finally looks like it's got a plan.  One was a dunk, and a couple of baby hooks.  Either way, this kid will blossom as an offense force eventually.  I'm just not sure that's going to be this season. Either way, he provides an offensive spark, and miraculously raises the team's field goal shooting percentage out of the thirties.
  • Make that eight in a row from the Turk.  He looks like he finally realizes that he can put that thing in the bucket pretty easily.
  • Kilicli has picked up his second foul.  Nigel Spikes, who guards him, has three already.  Giant men banging into each other will not be tolerated, apparently.
  • Last television timeout of the half.... and neither team has broken twenty.  This is incredibly ugly.  If you like fouls and turnovers, you'll love this. West Virginia has 17 turnovers or fouls.... and 18 points.  8 baskets, 8 turnovers. This is hurting my eyes.
  • After seventeen minutes of play, both teams have broken twenty.  Cam Thoroughman and Nigel Spikes both have three fouls in the first half. Ridic.
  • The Mountaineers are on a looooooong drought.  They haven't made a bucket in eight minutes and their foes in Green have gone on a 19-2 run in the interim.  The 'Eers are now down 12 with under a minute left in the half.  It's been hard to watch, with 27 fouls being called it's hard to get into any kind of rhythm.  The shots they do get off, don't even seem to come close to going in.
  • Pitts buries a three on the Herd's last possession and they go into the locker room up 35-21 in one of the ugliest halves of basketball I've ever seen.  This is not fun to watch.  I expect the team to come out re focused, but there's quite of work to do. At the half the Mountaineers have 8 field goals and 11 turnovers, and they're held to their lowest halftime total of the year. 

Photographs by dizfunk used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.