West Virginia Storms Back and Steals a win in Birmingham
The West Virginia Mountaineers trailed by nine points to the University of Alabama at Birmingham with eight minutes remaining before battling back and grabbing their 10th win of the season Saturday evening, 65-59.
UAB started the game 6-12 from the field and forced three West Virginia turnovers to take the early 14-4 advantage at the 13:23 mark before the Mountaineers began winning the defensive battle, chipping away at the deficit and taking a 20-18 lead with 4:16 remaining in the first half.
West Virginia's 16-4 run came to a stall as the Blazers defense held the Mountaineers leading scorer Taz Sherman to just two points in the first half. However, nine Mountaineers scored to keep the Mountaineers within possession as UAB outscored WVU in the final four minutes 11-6 to take a 29-26 lead into halftime.
Sherman got the Mountaineers within one to start the second half with a jumper, but the Blazers had two quick spurts of 4-0 and 5-0 to extend the lead to nine 40-31 at the 14:42 mark of the second half.
Sherman kept the Mountaineers within reach with nine points in just over seven minutes. Then, West Virginia forward Gabe Osabuohien's aggressiveness on the offensive end started to chip away at the Blazer while the Mountaineer defense held the Blazer defense to just a point in just over four minutes, and Kedrian Johnson made a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to three, 52-49 with 5:11 to play.
West Virginia guard Sean McNeil got the Mountaineers within one after going around a double team, weaved through the defense, stopped, and hit a turnaround jumper and the foul but missed the free throw.
After hitting a pair of free throws with 2:36 remaining, McNeil gave West Virginia the lead, and Sherman followed it with a deep three over a double team, extending the lead to four.
With West Virginia leading by three with a minute remaining and the shot clock winding down, Sherman drove the lane and drew the foul, getting an opportunity for two at the free throw line, but he went 1-2 to put WVU back up four 59-55 with 52 seconds remaining.
Sherman and guard Kedrian Johnson finished out the game a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line and grabbed the 65-59 win.
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