The West Virginia men’s basketball team lost to No. 25 BYU Saturday evening. After a solid first half of controlled play, the Mountaineers lost their momentum later in the game.
“I thought the first half we did a really good job controlling the tempo. We were able to get some long possessions, didn’t give up much in transition, and didn’t give up a lot of threes,” DeVries said. “We were able to manage it enough on the interior.”
In the first 20 minutes of play, West Virginia allowed BYU just two points off of turnovers and four second chance points. The Cougars had 18 points in the paint but went 0-4 behind the arc.
“In the second half, the way we were trying to defend the three-point line obviously exposed us to some interior post touches and we weren’t able to handle that one-on-one,” DeVries said.
In just the second half alone, the Cougars added 28 points in the paint and totaled 52 points in the half, going 20-33 from the field.
Defense is an aspect on the court the Mountaineers have struggled with the entirety of the season. They move to 17-12 on the season (8-10 in Big 12), with just two more opportunities to clinch a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
