WVU defeated No. 3 Gonzaga in overtime in their first game of Battle 4 Atlantis.
West Virginia opened up play in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament with a huge upset win over Gonzaga.
The Mountaineers started the game very slowly in the first half, shooting a 30% clip from the field and 33.3% from three. they were led in the first half by Amani Hansberry, who had 10 first half points.
For Gonzaga, in the first half, they got off to a hot start, shooting 42% FG and 43% 3PT. They were led by Khalif Battle, who put up 14 first-half points and looked like he couldn’t be stopped.
The Mountaineers went into the half trailing 39-31.
In the second half, it looked like a different Mountaineers team, and they came out of the half and went on a 12-0 run to take the lead 45-43.
The team was led in the second half by starting point guard Javon Small, who scored 18 second-half points, shooting 6-9 from the field and 3-6 from three-point range to spark the comeback. Small went on to score a career-high 31 points, topping his previous mark by four.
The Mountaineers held the lead for most of the second half, and their biggest lead was eight.
WVU was able to force overtime late in the second half thanks to a clutch steal by Tucker DeVries who was able to draw a foul and make both free throws to tie the game at 71.
The Mountaineers went on to win the game 86-78 to hand No. 3 Gonzaga their first loss of the season in WVU’s first game of the Battle 4 Atlantis.
WVU has gotten their first signature win of the Darian DeVries era in Morgantown.
WVU will take on Louisville tomorrow at Noon EST. The game will be televised on ESPN.
