Published: January 06, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W. Va.
No. 25 West Virginia used a 15-1 second-half run to break open a
tight contest and defeat the St. John's men's basketball team,
73-46, in Morgantown on Saturday evening. Lamont Hamilton's 15
points helped keep the Red Storm close, but the Mountaineers pulled
away before a sellout crowd at WVU Coliseum.
With the loss, St. John's fell to 10-5 overall and 1-1 in the
BIG EAST, while West Virginia improved to 13-1 overall, 3-0 in
league play and a perfect 9-0 at home.
Hamilton, the Red Storm's latest member of the 1,000 point club,
led the way with his 15 points and three rebounds, and Anthony
Mason Jr. added a solid overall effort with three points, a
game-high eight rebounds, six assists and a steal. Junior captain
Eugene Lawrence scored five points and grabbed five rebounds in 32
minutes of action.
Darris Nichols scored 20 points for West Virginia and went
4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Seven different players knocked down at
least one 3 for the Mountaineers, who collectively went 13-of-31
from long range. Frank Young scored 12 points, and Joe Alexander
recorded 10 points, five rebounds and seven assists.
St. John's fought back from an 11-point deficit early in the
first half, as Lawrence knocked down a 3-pointer to cap a 10-0 run
pull the Red Storm within one point, 20-19. WVU's Alex Ruoff and
Joe Alexander opened up a seven-point lead with back-to-back 3's,
and the Mountaineers went into the intermission with a 30-23
advantage.
Hamilton connected on 4-of-7 field goals in scoring eight
first-half points, and Mason Jr. pulled down seven rebounds (three
offensive) to lead the team's effort on the glass. Nichols paced
West Virginia with nine points, while Young added eight points and
four rebounds.
The two teams went back-and-forth to open the second half, but a
jumper by Nichols at the 14:17 mark and a fastbreak dunk by
Alexander with 13:55 remaining pushed the Mountaineer lead into
double figures at 41-30. West Virginia finished its 15-1 run with a
52-31 lead and maintained a 20-plus point cushion for much of the
remainder of the half.
St. John's looks to bounce back on the road next week, traveling
to Seton Hall for a Thursday, Jan. 11 contest at Continental
Airlines Arena. Tip-off for the BIG EAST Conference contest is at 7
p.m.