College basketball

W.Va. comes alive after halftime

By wire services
Published November 14, 2005

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Kevin Pittsnogle scored 19 to lead No.14 West Virginia to a 61-41 victory over Wofford on Sunday and a berth in the semifinals of the Guardians Classic.

The Mountaineers, ranked in the preseason poll for the second time, trailed 24-19 at halftime but scored the first 13 of the second half. That was part of a 23-2 run spanning the halves that put West Virginia ahead 40-26 with 12:15 left.

Wofford trailed 45-28 with 10 minutes left and never got within 16 again.

West Virginia plays the winner of the region hosted by No.2 Texas in a semifinal in Kansas City, Mo., on Nov.21.

The Mountaineers made 1 of 10 3-pointers in the first half and had to rely on Pittsnogle's inside scoring. He scored 13 of West Virginia's first 17, 10 inside.

The Mountaineers jump-started the big run by switching from man-to-man defense to their trademark 1-3-1 zone. That triggered multiple Wofford turnovers - it finished with 20 - that were easily converted into points once West Virginia found its shooting touch.

Frank Young finished with 10 points, including the first nine of the second half for West Virginia.

Other than Pittsnogle, West Virginia was 3-of-19 from the field in the first half. It was 8-for-27 overall in the half (29.6 percent) and 14-of-32 (43.8 percent) in the game. It hit eight 3s in the second half.

Reserve Patrick Beilein scored all his 12 on 3-pointers in a six-minute span in the second half for the Mountaineers. Joe Herber had 10 assists for the second straight game.

Eric Marshall had 11 points for Wofford.

The Mountaineers finished the game with a 44-17 run. Their biggest lead came with 24 seconds left when Darris Nichols hit two free throws to make it 61-39.

NO.9 KENTUCKY 71, S. DAKOTA ST. 54: Sophomore point guard Rajon Rondo had 17 points and a career-high 12 rebounds to lead the host Wildcats in the first round of the Guardians Classic.

Rekalin Sims added 11 points for Kentucky, which plays Lipscomb tonight in the second round.

The game never quite turned into the mismatch it seemed it might become, the Wildcats with their seven national titles and annual Final Four hopes at home in Rupp Arena against a team starting its second season in NCAA Division I.

The Wildcats missed their first eight shots, including air balls by Rondo and Joe Crawford. But South Dakota State committed four turnovers and went 1-of-4 from the field during that stretch.

With 11:54 left in the half, the Jackrabbits had missed 16 of 17 shots and trailed 14-2.

UM 76, TEXAS-ARLINGTON 65: The Hurricanes regained control in the final 61/2 minutes after almost squandering a 25-point lead, defeating the Mavericks in an opening-round game in the Black Coaches Association tournament in Seattle.

Guards Robert Hite (17 points) and Guillermo Diaz (16) led Miami, and 6-foot-10 forward Gary Hamilton came off the bench to get 10 points and nine rebounds.

The long and athletic Hurricanes dominated from the start and stretched their lead to 45-20 in the first 1:17 of the second half before Texas-Arlington stormed back.

The Mavericks went on a 22-2 run to cut the deficit to 47-42 on Jeremy Dewalt's fastbreak layup. They got within three three times before the Hurricanes retook control.

VA. TECH 54, W. CAROLINA 40: Guard Jamon Gordon had 11 points and 10 rebounds to lead the host Hokies in the NABC Classic.

Women

NO.3 LSU 76, NO.13 TEXAS TECH 68: Seimone Augustus had 32 points and 13 rebounds to lead the visiting Tigers in the Tip-Off Classic. Augustus scored nine of LSU's final 14 after the Raiders tied the score at 62 with about three minutes left. Texas Tech led most of the game until it went scoreless on six possessions midway through the second half.

NO.6 BAYLOR 84, NO.8 GEORGIA 72: Sophia Young scored 30, rallying the host Bears from an 18-point second-half deficit at the Tip-Off Classic. The defending NCAA champions won their 21st straight. With the Bulldogs' Tasha Humphrey in foul trouble, the Bears erased Georgia's 59-41 second-half lead and went up 67-65 with eight minutes left.

NO.25 OKLAHOMA 80, SMU 43: Courtney Paris had 19 points and 20 rebounds to lead the host Sooners in the second round of the Preseason NIT. Paris, who sat out the final 8:56 after Oklahoma had a 28-point lead, fell one rebound short of tying the school freshman record.

[Last modified November 14, 2005, 01:04:15]