DA ('SEAN) BUTLER DOES IT FOR WVU

January 23, 2009


West Virginia is not going to go quietly from the Big East picture.

Looking like possibly the odd team out of the race to finish in the top eight of the conference, the Mountaineers embarked on a tough stretch of games last night in DC with a match-up against 14th-ranked Georgetown at the Verizon Center.

Da'Sean Butler pured in a game-high 27 points as WVU Knocks Off the Hoyas, 75-58 (Times West Virginian) in front of 12,875 fans and a national TV audience watching on ESPN.

With the Mountaineers struggled out of the gate, Butler got their offense rolling by hitting a variety of shots. Butler hit 11 of 19 shots from the floor, including four of nine from three-point range and added a team high 8 rebounds.

The final rebounding margin showed a 39-31 edge for the undersized Mountaineers, but the dominance on the boards certainly seemed to be much more one-sided. After a slow start, trailing 9-2 early as they began the game 1-9 from the field, it was all WVU from that point on as Frustration, Errant Shots Doom Hoyas (Washington Times) against intense effort from Bob Huggins' squad.

With the Hoyas still hanging around and observers waiting for a Georgetown run to make things interesting, an Alex Ruoff Dunk Keys Mountaineer Upset (Daily Mail) run to close the game. With 5:32 left, Ruoff drove the lane as the Hoya defense parted like the Red Sea and he flushed home a one-hand jam that started a game-ending 17-7 run for the Mountaineers.

WVU, which also got 13 points from Darryl Bryant and 10 each from Ruoff and Wellington Smith, moved to 3-2 in the Big East. WVU next hosts rival Pittsburgh on Sunday.

The Hoyas, Humbled at Home (Washington Post), for the second time already in conference play, fell to 3-3 in league action.

Chris Wright led G'town with 13 points, but the sophomore point guard did not register an assist in his 31 minutes on the floor.

Notes:

-WVU forced the Hoyas to turn the ball over 19 times and held them to 39% shooting.

-Alex Ruoff struggled from the field (3-10), but was credited with 9 assists to just one turnover

-West Virginia shot 55% (29-53) after starting the game 1-9. For the game they shot 48%.

-Jonathan Flowers, who attended nearby St. Mary's-Ryken High School, added 8 rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench