Nick Arthur, Morgantown -
PHOTO GALLERY
Freshman point guard Jabarie
Hinds scored 19 points and senior forward Kevin Jones added 18 as the West
Virginia Mountaineers defeated Akron 77-56 on Monday night at the Coliseum.
West Virginia (4-1) forced
20 turnovers and turned those into 32 points.
"It was a tough game in
the beginning," Jones said. "I think our defensive pressure started to get to
them a little bit. We got steals and our guards really got up and pressured
their guards."
The Mountaineers only led
by six, 21-15, with 8:13 remaining in the first half. But, a technical foul on
West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins seemed to get the Mountaineers going. The
team responded with a 19-2 run to end the half and took a 43-20 advantage into
the locker room.
Jones had another
impressive first half. Jones had nine points and eight rebounds in the first 20
minutes.
But, the story of the
first half was the play from Hinds. His quick hands and feet forced multiple
Akron turnovers that led to easy points for the Mountaineers.
Hinds was just taking
advantage of his opportunity.
"The momentum was going
our way, I was feeling it," Hinds said.
Huggins was pleased with
the play from his freshman starting point guard.
"He's a talented guy,"
Huggins said. "He gets better all the time, and will continue to get better all
the time."
The Mount Vernon, N.Y.
native led all scorers with 15 first-half points.
"He definitely gave us a big spark," Jones said. "He just had
a complete game tonight."
Poor free-throw shooting
continued for the Mountaineers in the first half. Despite the 23-point lead, West
Virginia was just 8-16 from the free-throw line.
The Mountaineers played
sloppy offensively to begin the second half, and the Zips were able to chip
into the lead.
Nitro, W.Va. native Brett
McClanahan hit a deep three for the visitors, and Akron trailed 57-41 with nine
minutes left to play.
Freshman guard Gary Browne
hit a runner with five minutes left to play. West Virginia extended its lead to
66-44.
Browne and Hinds continued
to bother Akron players in the second half. The two combined for eight steals.
"We thought we could try
to pressure them a little bit," Huggins said. "Kind of take them out of what
they want to do."
Akron junior center Zeke
Marshall led the Zips in blocked shots with 16 coming into the contest. Marshall
forced many Mountaineer players to adjust their shots when in the paint.
However, foul trouble kept the seven-footer from McKeesport, Pa. on the bench
for early portions of the second half.
Jones recorded his fourth
straight double-double. Jones finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds
West Virginia finished
14-27 from the free throw line.
Senior guard Truck Bryant
and junior forward Deniz Kilicli both added 11 points.
Bryant thought the
non-conference victory over Akron was very telling.
"We learned we can be a
very good team at the end of the year," Bryant said.
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