Mountaineers hold on to top Seton Hall

It wasn’t pretty at all times, but No. 8 West Virginia hung on for a 75-63 win to complete a regular season sweep of Seton Hall.

With the win, the Mountaineers (21-5, 10-4) move into sole possession of third place in the Big East Conference standings.

WVU played pretty well in the first half and all nine players to see action scored. The Mountaineers also held a 22-17 rebounding advantage, including 11-6 on the offensive end. West Virginia forced 10 Pirate turnovers and it looked like a promising performance was on the verge of developing with a 14-point lead at the break.

The Mountaineers looked good up until midway through the second half. WVU led 63-46 with just over nine minutes remaining and that’s when complacency set in.

Seton Hall reeled off 14 unanswered points, and just like that it was a tight game. With three minutes remaining the Pirates trailed 63-60.

“We have shot ourselves in the foot enough that I think we got a little tentative,” said WVU head coach Bob Huggins.

WVU made enough free throws down the stretch to prevail, but it also missed enough to let Seton Hall stay within striking distance. The Mountaineers finished 27-for-38 from the charity stripe on the day.

The Mountaineers went without a field goal for the final 9:10. WVU’s bench was a bright spot, as four players combined to score 16 points and play 42 minutes.

Although it won’t register as one of WVU’s finer performances this season(eight second half field goals justifies that), the Mountaineers earned another quality win by doing what they do best- defending and rebounding.

“The positive is that there isn’t another team in the country that can shoot 37 percent against those guys and win by 12. We’re winning because we rebound the ball and guys make plays when they have to make plays,” Huggins said.