West Virginia Wins East Regional
3/27/2010 10:06:58 PM | Men's Basketball
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – West Virginia advanced to its second Final Four in school history on Saturday, earning a 73-66 victory against top-seeded Kentucky in front of 22,497 fans at the Carrier Dome. The Mountaineers, who last made the championship weekend in 1959, advance to Indianapolis as the East Regional Champions.
Joe Mazzula was named the East Regional Most Outstanding Player after scoring 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Da'Sean Butler led four West Virginia players in double figures, while Kevin Jones and Devin Ebanks added 13 and 12 points, respectively.
The Mountaineers took control of the game early in the second half. West Virginia scored the first eight points of the period to turn a 28-26 lead into a 36-26 advantage. Kentucky cut the lead to five on two occasions but each time West Virginia responded with a basket on the other end.
West Virginia extended its lead to as many as 16 points, 61-45, with 4:25 remaining in the contest. Kentucky fought back and pulled to within four, 70-66, with 23 ticks left but West Virginia hit three of its final four free throws to seal the victory.
The Mountaineers faced a seven-point deficit in the first half thanks to an early 11-0 Kentucky run. The West Virginia defense kept the game close and used a 12-2 spurt to claim a lead it would not relinquish. All 12 points during the run were from behind the 3-point line as West Virginia scored eight 3-point baskets in the first half and zero 2-pointers.
Kentucky's John Wall led all players with 19 points and five assists, while DeMarcus Cousins scored 15 points in the losing effort.
The Mountaineers played strong from beyond the arc to win the contest. West Virginia converted 43.5 percent of its 3-point shots (10-23), while Kentucky made just 12.5 percent (4-32) of its attempts. The Mountaineers were also able to take advantage of 16 Wildcat turnovers and convert them into 19 points.
West Virginia faces the winner of Sunday's Duke versus Baylor contest next Saturday. The last two teams to advance out of the Syracuse Regional each went on to win the national championship (Maryland, 2002; North Carolina, 2005).
