 scored the final eight points to seal its third straight win since its only loss against St. John’s at Madison Square Garden. The Mountaineers were playing as a ranked team for the first time this season.The inside duo of Tshiebwe and Culver eventually proved to be too much for upset-mind Youngstown State (7-6), which led by seven points early in the second half.Culver also had seven rebounds and seven assists and Tshiebwe pulled down six rebounds. Culver grew up just a short walk from the Covelli Centre. Tshiebwe, a native of Congo, attended high school at Kennedy Catholic in nearby Sharon, Pennsylvania.Culver, who estimated 80 family and friends were in the stands, admitted some nerves ahead of the game. Tshiebwe had a cheering section behind one of the baskets.“The game was all I kept thinking about in the hotel room this morning,” Culver said. “My hands were sweaty.“I came out for warmups and saw so many people I haven’t seen a long time and that was great. About two minutes into the game, the nerves went away and it was just another game.”Tshiebwe found another reason beyond the win to celebrate.“It’s good to be home for Christmas,” he said, with a smile.West Virginia had five players score in double figures. Jermaine Haley and Miles McBride each had 11 and Taz Sherman finished with 10.Youngstown State’s Darius Quisnenbery led all scorers with 22 points. Garrett Covington added 11 points and Naz Bohannon had 13 rebounds.After falling behind 42-35 in the first two minutes of the second half, West Virginia outscored Youngstown State 23-9 to move in front 58-51 on Tshiebwe’s lay-in with 9:52 to go.West Virginia increased its lead to 65-57 on Sherman’s 3-pointer with 5:10 left. Youngstown State got within 67-64 with 2:11 left on a pair of Quisenberry free throws but the Mountaineers went on a game-ending 8-0 run.“We’ve been tested before this season,” Haley said. “We know what it takes to get it done at the end of games.”The Penguins led 38-35 at halftime.“West Virginia plays as tough an any team in the country,” Youngstown State coach Jerrod Calhoun said. “We wanted to outhustle them, out-tough them and I thought we did. I’m really proud of our guys.???DO ME A FAVORWith a rare visit from a Power Five conference team, Youngstown State played the game off campus at the Covelli Centre.West Virginia coach Bob Huggins and Calhoun are familiar with each other. Calhoun was an assistant for Huggins at Cincinnati and West Virginia.Youngstown State played at West Virginia last season and will make the trip to Morgantown next season.HALEY RETURNSWest Virginia’s Haley, the team’s leading scorer, was back in the starting lineup. He sat out the previous game, a win over Nicholls State, for what was termed a “coach’s decision.”FOUL FOUL SHOOTINGWest Virginia made just 50 percent of its free throws, connecting on 10 of 20. That didn’t sit well with Huggins.“Usually poor free throwing shooting is an indication of a team that is disengaged,” Huggins said. “We were disengaged for a long time and give Youngstown State credit because they took the fight to us more than we took the fight to them.”BIG PICTUREWest Virginia: The schedule gets much tougher for the Mountaineers. They finish non-conference play against No. 5 Ohio State on Dec. 29 then visit No. 1 Kansas in the Big 12 opener Jan 4.Youngstown State: The Penguins had a good tuneup for Horizon League play after competing against a ranked Big 12 team.UP NEXTWest Virginia: Will play Ohio State on Dec. 29 in a neutral-site game in Cleveland.Youngstown State: Begins conference play with a two-game trip to IUPUI on Dec. 28 and Illinois-Chicago on Dec. 30.)
Dec 19, 2019The No. 25 West Virginia Mountaineers visit the Youngstown State Penguins on Saturday in what can reasonably be called the biggest home game for Youngstown State basketball this decade.The rarity of a Power Five conference program visiting a Horizon League campus will only add to the intensity. Youngstown State hasn't hosted a Power Five opponent at any previous point in the decade.The Penguins are 6-0 at home this season, and now they get a chance to register the biggest homecourt win in recent program history.It will be tough for Youngstown State (7-5) to knock off the nationally ranked Mountaineers (9-1), who seem to be witnessing the emergence of Derek Culver. In West Virginia's most recent game, an 83-57 win over Nicholls State on Saturday, the sophomore forward busted loose for 16 points and 16 rebounds.West Virginia coach Bob Huggins can see evidence of Culver's evolution as a player."When Derek gets tired of getting fouled, he just separates people," Huggins said. "If you all knew how far he's come, he's come a long, long way. He continues to get better. We just gotta get him to slow down a little bit. He catches it at the foul line and makes that jump shot, it makes him even harder to guard." Culver sounds as if he understands what Huggins wants from him."With that patience came the opportunity to score," Culver said. "The defense plays hardest when you first get the ball, but if you take your time the defense starts to open up." Youngstown State coach Jerrod Calhoun is counting on his Penguins to continue to play tough defense, which would help make life difficult for Culver. Youngstown State limited Binghamton to 37 percent from the field and 18 percent from 3-point range in a 73-55 victory Wednesday night."What's nice with our guys is they're not letting the inability to make shots right now affect their defense," Calhoun said. "That's the key word: right now. You can't get down on yourself, you got to continue to work, continue to shoot the ball. ... You got to stay the course." Calhoun has been dealing with the challenge of players practicing without attending classes in the days before Christmas."The last couple days, we haven't had practice until early afternoon," Calhoun said. "Their routine is broken a little bit right now, and I think it's off a little bit. The energy levels are low. There's no class. We got to refocus and we got to understand that we're playing a team on Saturday at 1 o'clock. They're not going to take any possessions off. They are going to compete on every possession and make it really difficult." Oscar Tshiebwe leads West Virginia in scoring with 12.3 points per game. Culver leads the Mountaineers in rebounding with 9.6 boards per contest.Darius Quisenberry leads Youngstown State in scoring with 14.6 points per game. Naz Bohannon is the leading rebounder for the Penguins with 8.3 per game.--Field Level Media
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