After upsetting No. 3 Gonzaga on Wednesday in overtime, West Virginia was unable to defeat Louisville in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.
The game had many lead changes, but the Cardinals ultimately won. Javon Small was WVU’s leading scorer with 26 points. He also had seven assists, seven rebounds, and four steals.
The Mountaineers were out-rebounded and lost the turnover battle, which contributed to the loss.
Each team started slowly in the early going. West Virginia struck first with a Toby Okani dunk and a Tucker DeVries jumper.
With 10 minutes left in the first half, the score was tied 8-8. Both teams struggled to knock down the three-pointer in the first half, shooting a combined six for 28 from behind the arc.
Strong defensive efforts were prevalent in the first half, leading to the offensive stalling. The Mountaineers won the turnover margin in the first half 12-7 and had five blocks.
Scoring began to pick up in the final 10 minutes of the first half. West Virginia led 28-24 at halftime, but Louisville ended the first half on a 7-0 run.
The second half was tightly contested for the most part. Louisville took the lead with just over seven and a half minutes left to play.
The Cardinals extended that lead as WVU desperately needed to get back in the game. The Mountaineers did just that.
Louisville led by seven with under five minutes left to go, but West Virginia took the lead back with under two minutes left. At that point, the Cardinals were in a scoring drought of 2:28 and WVU was on an 8-0 run.
Louisville took the lead back, but West Virginis was soon to answer. With around 30 seconds left Louisville was heading to the line to shoot two free throws, trailing by one. He made one of his two attempts, tying the game at 62.
WVU had a chance to take a lead with just a second left but committed a shot clock violation. West Virginia was headed to overtime for a second consecutive game.
Louisville opened overtime with a three, making the game 65-62. Amani Hansberry went to the free-throw line for WVU and made both attempts, pulling them within one.
Louisville made a layup, and then Small hit a three, tying the game at 67. DeVries fouled out with 2:30 left in overtime.
Louisville went up 72-67 as the Mountaineers once again needed an answer. WVU scored, but Louisville continued to pull ahead.
With 30 seconds left, Lousiville led 76-70 and hung on to beat West Virginia 79-70.
The Mountaineers will play the loser of Arizona vs. Oklahoma, which will be played on Thursday at 5 p.m. EST, on Friday at 3 p.m. EST for third place.
