Mounties roll Dukes 92-68

Huggy bear's letter to the students seemed to have struck a nerve. The student section was more crowded and more alive than any other game to date since the start of the Huggins' era. Total attendance was 10,071- it was pretty crowded in the Coliseum, but there were enough empty seats to give me a jacket holder. Everyone in attendance got to watch the Joe Alexander show. -picture seen here not from Saturday-

Joe set a career high with 26 points. The turn around off the glass was his bread and butter, with a big two hand jam and a couple deep jumpers in the mix as well. One of four Mountaineers in double figures, Joe joined Da'Sean Butler (18 pts) Alex Ruoff (15 pts) and John Flowers (13) in an offensive display slowed more by the referee's fondness for the whistle than the full court man to man press employed by Duquesne.

All hail Lord Smalligan, ejected less than three minutes into the game, earning him a second straight game with fewer than 3 minutes played. I personally missed the blow that got him ejected. I only saw the flop and slide from the Duquesne lady. Like Chief Smalligan would knock anyone that hard. Sheesh. Before making his exit he did record a steal, an assist, and a turnover. Nice job.

Wellington Smith led the effort on the glass with 9 boards, followed by Butlers 8, then Alexander with 6. It is so refreshing to see the Mountaineers hit the boards. Maybe the 1-3-1 defense employed the past few seasons won't be back for a long time. Michigan can keep it. WVU outrebounded Duquesne 35 to 21. Sweet.

I am becoming more and more a fan of John Flowers. He cuts smoothly to the rack. He rebounds, and he came up with an impressive little dunk as well. Should we be so lucky to have him put on weight like Joe did this past off season, he could be even more of a force to reckon with.

Extra Large Baskets Installed in Piskataway

The Mountaineers won their first conference road game earlier tonight, now 1-4 on the road in Big East action, against the Rutgers 89-83. The Mountaineers improve to 17-4 overall and 6-3 in the Big East.

Outrageous stat of the night? Pick one: the Mountaineers shooting 14 of 21 from beyond the arc (66.7%); Da'Sean Butler leading WVU in scoring from the bench with 17 points; or the unbelievable awkwardness of Alexander on that dunk after a beautiful backdoor cut.



Speaking of which: I guess the rumors are true afterall, the backdoor is wide open in Jersey. The Mountaineers certainly pounded it all night long. And for that, I am proud.

Rounding out the stats, Joe Alexander had 17 points, 11 of which came in the second half; Darris Nichols scored 16; the Fu was held below his season average and scored 11; and finally Jamie Smalligan scored 10 while managing not to lose any more hair over it.

Leading the Rutgers in scoring, Jaron Griffin had 19 points.

Both teams shot lights out with WVU shooting 65.2% overall and the Rutgers shot 53.1%. Despite their season average of .005%, the Rutgers shot 46.7% from three point land.

Tummysticks might have some analysis later, if he's sober enough.