YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Jerrod Calhoun picked up much of his coaching acumen from Bob Huggins, and on Saturday his Youngstown State team showed it.
A year after his Penguins were run out of the gym by a supbar West Virginia team, Calhoun’s squad played well enough to give a good Mountaineers team plenty of headaches before WVU finally managed to get out of the Covelli Centre with a 75-64 win.
Youngstown State (7-6) led for much of the first half and kept No. 25 West Virginia (10-1) uncomfortable deep into the second.
“We’ve got to bottle that up. That is Youngstown,” Calhoun said. “You don’t go to a game and not outwork your opponent.”
Playing for the first time in a week, the Mountaineers came out with a more lackadaisical spirit and were fortunate to not pay for it.
“It’s hard when you don’t start the way you should to turn it around in the middle of a game,” Huggins said. “They came out more physical. They played really, really hard. They took the fight to us. We didn’t take the fight to them.”
The effort battle manifested itself in a pair of obvious ways statistically.
Despite checking in at 248th in the country in average player height, the Penguins out-rebounded West Virginia 39-38. It’s only the second time this season a team has beaten the Mountaineers on the glass.
There was greater shame at the free-throw line, where the Mountaineers were a miserable 10-for-20.
“Generally when your mind’s not right, when you take some things for granted,” Huggins said. “The stat that shows up is free-throw shooting. We were horrible. That’s an indication that you’re not fully engaged.”
After heading into halftime facing a 38-35 deficit, engagement stopped being an issue for West Virginia in the second half.
Youngstown native Derek Culver came within shouting distance of a triple-double, finishing with 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
Oscar Tshiebwe, who played his high school hoops in nearby Hermitage, Pa., scored a team-high 19 points.
And guard Jermaine Haley, who was benched for the entire Nicholls State game, responded with 11 points and three rebounds.
Despite WVU’s horrendous free-throw shooting, Tshiebwe and Haley helped put the game away at the line. Youngstown State cut WVU’s lead to 67-64 after its press rattled Chase Harler into throwing a cross-court pass directly to the Penguins.
But Tshiebwe scored a traditional three-point play, and Haley drained a pair of free throws on the following possession to boost the lead back up to eight heading into the final minute.
By the numbers
Miles McBride and Taz Sherman each scored 10 points off the bench… Youngstown State guard Darius Quisenberry led all scorers with 22 points before fouling out… Gabe Osabuohein had a crazy line, finishing a game-high plus-19 on the court despite never attempting a field goal. He was held scoreless, but had five rebounds, three assists and three steals without turning the ball over.
Next up
The Mountaineers face No. 5 Ohio State in Cleveland on Dec. 29 after a break for Christmas.