Much-Needed Win for Mountaineers
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MORGANTOWN -- If ever a team was in need of some luck, it was West Virginia -- in an unusual place in the cellar of the Big 12 -- as it played host to perennial Big 12 champion Kansas on Saturday afternoon at the Coliseum.
Five losses, the most recent a 30-point embarrassment at TCU, to start conference play put the Mountaineers in a must-win situation against a Jayhawks squad looking to make it 15 years in a row finishing atop the Big 12 standings.
However, during its seven-year tenure in the 10-team league, WVU has proven to be a thorn in the side of Bill Self's Jayhawks and Saturday was no different as the Mountaineers pulled out a 65-64 come-from-behind win over KU.
"My deal was probably more the situation," Self said when asked about the game's final frantic seconds. "Me not calling timeout was a bad move.
"(West Virginia head coach) Bob (Huggins) not calling timeout was brilliant."
With time running out and his team down by one, 64-63, junior guard Jermaine Haley saw an opening down the left side of the lane and took advantage of a shorter Jayhawks defender to lay-in the game-winning shot with sevens seconds remaining to hand the Mountaineers their first win in league play with a 9 p.m. showdown with Baylor on Monday in the Coliseum on deck.
"That probably ranks the biggest," said senior Esa Ahmad, who canned a pair of threes and finished with eight points and seven rebounds in the game. "This was a must-win for us. At least we felt it was."
WVU (9-9, 1-5 Big 12) dug itself a six-point hole (64-58) when KU's Marcus Garrett, who tallied 15 points in the game, hit a driving layup.
However, a 3-pointer by Wesley Harris and a layup from Derek Culver pulled the hosts back to within one, 64-63, and sit up the game's frantic final seconds.
"I honestly don't know if we had any timeouts left," Haley said. "But, if with the season that we've had so far, it shows that our coaches still have confidence that we can make plays in the end."
Huggins had another explanation.
"I didn't want to call timeout because I didn't want Bill (Self) to change what he was doing on defense," Huggins said. "I'm glad he realized that (referring to Self's statement about it being brilliant)."
West Virginia finished with three players in double figures, led by Haley's 13. James 'Beetle' Bolden, who did not start because of fighting an illness, added 12 points and four steals, while Culver chipped in 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists and one blocked shot.
"We've stuck together," Ahmad said. "After the last game, we just sat down and told each other that we needed to stick together and that's what we are doing. We know we are a good team. Four of the five losses we have had in the Big 12, we could have won.
"We just need to come out and play like we did tonight every night."
Wheeling Central's Chase Harler started the game in place of Bolden and went 3-for-3 from the field, including a huge 3 in the second half, to finish with seven points.
"I haven't been shooting the ball like I know I am capable of shooting it," Harler said. "So hitting that one was big for me."