For a third straight day, WVU went to overtime. On Friday, they took home third place in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament after falling to Lousiville in the semi-finals on Thursday.
Tucker DeVries led all scorers in the contest with 26 points. Toby Okani had 20 points for the Mountaineers, while Amani Hansberry notched a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
It was a slow start for West Virginia as Arizona jumped out in front early. However, under 12 minutes in the first half, the Mountaineers cut the lead.
Arizona was on a scoring drought of over two minutes when WVU took a 21-20 lead as a part of a 6-0 run. However, Arizona ended their scoring drought immediately after with a three.
While WVU struggled rebounding in the first half, turnovers were a big part of their game. In the first half, they forced eight turnovers, off which they scored 15 points.
DeVries caught fire towards the end of the first half. With under four minutes to go, he hit three straight three-point attempts and had 17 points at the end of the first half, helping Wesr Virginia lead 39-37 heading into the locker room.
In the second half, WVU held a slight lead throughout the beginning of the second half. DeVries was in foul trouble with three early into the second and was taken out for a short time.
Both teams struggled offensively around the 13-minute mark of the second half. West Virginia went on an 11-0 run and was nearing a double-digit point lead.
Points off turnovers continued to be crucial for WVU in the second half. Arizona began to close the gap, but the Mountaineers did not make a field goal for over three minutes.
Arizona tied the game at 66 late with 14 seconds left to go. The Mountaineers continued to struggle up to that point, making just one of their last 10 field goal attempts.
At the end of regulation, the game was still tied at 66, and West Virginia was headed to their third overtime game in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.
WVU struck early in overtime with a Hansberry jumper. Looking to answer, West Virginia stole the ball from Arizona and capitalized with a DeVries three. The Mountaineers continued to stay hot offensively and build a lead of six.
With a minute to go, WVU led 78-72. Arizona scored with about 50 seconds left, cutting the Mountaineers’ lead to four.
With 18 seconds left, West Virginia had a more comfortable 83-76 lead. They held on to take third in the tournament.
With the win, West Virginia improved to 5-2 on the season and got their second win over a ranked opponent in three days. The Mountaineers will take on Georgetown next Friday at home in their next contest.
