West Virginia starts strong, tops Akron in exhibition 74-59

— By Taylor Kennedy

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — From the outset of Friday’s charity exhibition against Akron, West Virginia was ready to play.

The Mountaineers jumped out to an early 7-0 lead in the first 1:59, and held that lead the rest of the way en route to a 74-59 victory against the Zips in front of 9,434 at the Coliseum.

Senior Taz Sherman was a major factor behind WVU’s early success. Sherman posted 20 points in the opening half and went on to finish with a game-high 29 points. Sherman’s career high in a regular season contest is 26, which he scored last season against eventual national champion Baylor.

“I played OK,” Sherman said. “I got to my shots. I got to the rim. That’s what I wanted to do when I got the switch with the big. I wanted to get to the rim and put pressure on the rim, and I think I did that.”

Taz Sherman

From the 12:03 mark of the first half, the Mountaineers led by double digits. WVU’s largest lead was 32 points early in the second half, but veteran head coach Bob Huggins wasn’t elated with his team’s finish.

“We did not continue to play,” Huggins noted. “We let up and down. We did whatever. Our defense early on was good then it wasn’t. I thought we rebounded well early, then we did not rebound at all. We have to be more consistent than we are at this point.”

Sherman also saw the up-and-down play from the Mountaineers, who open their regular season November 9 against Oakland.

“We got up, then we got down, typical tales of last year in some cases,” Sherman said. “We cannot let up. Big 12 teams will bury us.”

West Virginia forced 20 Akron turnovers, including 15 in the first half. The Mountaineers utilized full-court pressure in spurts, and Huggins saw the energy he desired early, but not for a full 40 minutes.

“We came out and we had a lot of energy early then our energy left us,” Huggins stated. “We did not have the same kind of energy. When we brought in DC [Dimon Carrigan], he did a good job for a brief period of time. You cannot quit playing.”

Redshirt freshman Isaiah Cottrell saw his first action against another opponent since suffering a torn Achilles tendon against Northeastern last season.

“I have to stop fouling early,” Cottrell said. “I felt comfortable out there. Being back out there playing again felt good.”

Senior guard Sean McNeil scored 10 points, but was held to 4-of-12 shooting. McNeil does not believe the Mountaineers are quite ready for their opener in 10 days, but he is optimistic about the future.

“After tonight I would say no, but we had good and bad tonight,” McNeil said. “We won the game, which is the most important thing. We were up 30 and we won by 15. When we are up, we have to figure out ways to bury teams away. We have to keep our feet on team’s throats. We will be prepared. We will be ready for Oakland.”

Old Dominion transfer Malik Curry recorded three steals, but missed five of his six field-goal attempts.

Cottrell and freshman guard Kobe Johnson scored eight apiece, while swingman Jalen Bridges added seven points in the win.

The Mountaineers were out-rebounded 36-32, but attempted eight more shots than the Zips and outscored them 28-9 in points off turnovers.

Guard K.J. Walton led the Zips with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Former Huntington Highlander Mikal Dawson finished with eight points and four rebounds for Akron.

The Zips were held to 20 field goals and 10 assists.





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