West Virginia found what they were searching for, but in the end, No. 24 Virginia was too much for the Mountaineers.
The Mountaineers out-rebounded Virginia 41-28. The Cavaliers had a total of six offensive rebounds on Wednesday night, but two of them happened in the final six seconds, leading to a four chances at free throws, making two of them, and sending UVA to a 56-54 victory.
It was about as slow of a start one could imagine between West Virginia (2-3) and No. 24 Virginia (5-1). It took 3:37 for the first points to be scored, and it was that type of sluggish and slow pace in the third place game of the Fort Myers Tip-Off.
The two schools who neighbor each other geographically played a similar style throughout the opening 20 minutes — slow, lack of offense, and sloppy play. West Virginia trailed by three at halftime, despite shooting 32 percent from the field, and turning the ball over 10 times.
For roughly the first 30 minutes, West Virginia was searching for help on the offensive end. With Jesse Edwards in foul trouble early, the Mountaineers needed someone else — specifically their guards — to step up to get them back into the game.
The Mountaineers trailed by 36-26 with 13:18 to play and it looked to be the same story from two nights ago when WVU held with their opponent for the first half, before the opposition would pull away. On Wednesday night from Suncoast Credit Union Arena, that would not be the case.
West Virginia’s duo of guards of Kobe Johnson and Seth Wilson shot the Mountaineers back into the game, while Edwards sat on the bench in foul trouble. That duo scored nine consecutive points, all on three-pointers, as the Mountaineers took a 42-40 lead with 8:41 to play.
It would be a back-and-forth affair for the final eight-plus minutes, with neither team leading by more than three points.
Virginia went on a 5-0 run with just under three minutes remaining, taking a 50-47 lead. West Virginia responded with Edwards going one-and-one from the free throw line, followed by another three-pointer from Wilson, as the Mountaineers retook the lead, 51-50.
That would be WVU’s final lead of the game, as the Cavaliers converted layups on consecutive possessions and led by three with 45 seconds to play. The Mountaineers would tie things up with 36 seconds left as Quinn Slazinski made three free throws after he was fouled, tying the game at 54-all.
Then, the Mountaineers seemingly got the stop they needed, forcing a miss from Ryan Dunn. Leon Bond got the offensive rebound, before Reece Beekman drove to the basket and drew a foul on Slazinski. Beekman made the first free throw, missed the second, but Dunn grabbed the rebound, sending the Mountaineers home without a chance to tie or win the game in the closing seconds.
West Virginia turned the ball over 16 times, leading to 18 points for Virginia. Edwards would lead the Mountaineers in scoring again, as him and Slazinski both had 17 points. Edwards struggled from the free throw line in the second half, as he went 1 for 3 from the charity stripe, missing the front end of a one-and-one.
The Mountaineers shot 37 percent from the field, making 44 percent of their shots in the second half. WVU also went 6 for 12 from beyond the arc in the second half.
Poca, W.Va., native Issac McKneely scored eight points for Virginia, on 2 for 9 shooting. Dunn led UVA with 13 points, while Beekman added 12.
WVU falls to 2-3 on the season, and now takes a break until they face Bellarmine on Sunday.
