HARTFORD, Conn. — Sometimes you need to do more of the little things to win.
Down two stars in a hostile environment, UConn lost a heartbreaker 56-53 to West Virginia in a Big East-Big 12 Battle game on Wednesday at West Virginia Coliseum.
Taz Sherman led West Virginia in scoring with 23 points, including 3-for-6 from three.
Isaiah Whaley lead all UConn scorers with 15 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field.’
The Huskies came into the game missing two of their three leading rebounders in sophomore forward Adama Sanogo and senior guard Tyrese Martin. Martin (wrist) and Sanogo (abdominal strain) are out multiple weeks with injuries. Both are among the top five on the team in points, rebounds and blocks.
Against a raucous West Virginia crowd, their absence was sorely missed at pivotal moments. UConn struggled to find the right shot multiple times, leading to multiple shot clock violations. UConn’s season scoring leader R.J Cole struggled without their presence on offense, finishing with 14 points on just 6-for-17 shooting. The Huskies had 16 turnovers, struggling against the famous West Virginia press at times.
Over the first 10:11 Andre Jackson and Whaley combined for all 15 of UConn’s points. Jalen Gaffney broke the streak with a breakout fast break dunk that put UConn up, 17-16. The Huskies struggled from behind the arc in shooting just 1-for-12 (8.3%) in the first half and 3 of 21 for the game. The crowd’s hostile atmosphere seemed to play a role in affecting shots, as UConn had multiple air balls in the first half. Despite its poor shooting from behind the arc, UConn still shot 12-for-27 (44.4%) from the field. Whaley led UConn with nine points on 4-for-7 shooting.
The Mountaineers were hot from three as they shot 5-for-10 in the first half. West Virginia came into the game making 6.9 3s a game. Sherman and Sean McNeil had 13 points apiece for the Mountaineers, who went into the half with a 32-29 lead.
Discombobulated was the word to describe the Huskies second-half start. At 15:57, Cole had his pass stolen and it seemed like an easy layup for West Virginia’s Pauly Paulicap until Akok Akok made a chase-down block that had many in the West Virginia crowd bemoaning for a foul call. From there, Jackson ran down the court and passed to Jordan Hawkins only for him to lose the ball, his third turnover up to that point.
Down 33-38, Cole brought the Huskies right back with back-to-back three-pointers. Those 3s were just the second and third of the night for the Huskies, to put the UConn up, 39-38. The second half seemed to be the Cole and Whaley show, as both took turns scoring in pivotal moments.
With 3:20 to go and the scored tied at 51-51, Tyler Polley lost the ball that led to a jump ball call that gave the Mountaineers possession. Paulicap drove to the hoop and went to the free-throw line making one of them. Then, West Virginia played lock-down defense that led to a shot clock violation. After a missed dunk by West Virginia at 1:25, UConn collected the rebound and coach Dan Hurley called time out. After multiple missed attempts off offensive rebounds by the Huskies, West Virginia got the ball finally and knocked down some pivotal free throws to take control
For much of the UConn team, this was the first real road game against tough opponent and at times nerves seemed to get the best of them. Hawkins, fresh off one his best games against Grambling State, struggled with West Virginia’s defensive pressure. He had zero points on 0-for-7 shooting with three turnovers.
UConn’s road trip continues Saturday with a game against St. Bonaventure at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
