No. 6 WVU beats Seton Hall 90-84 in OT
December 26, 2009
NEWARK, N.J. (AP)—Devin Ebanks scored 22 points, Da’Sean Butler had 21 andKevin Jones added 19 to lead No. 6 West Virginia to a 90-84 overtime victoryover Seton Hall on Saturday, keeping the Mountaineers one of six unbeaten teamsin Division I.
Ebanks had 17 rebounds and Jones grabbed 14 for the Mountaineers (10-0) inthe Big East opener for both teams.
Jeremy Hazell had a career-high 41 points for the Pirates (9-2), who closedregulation with a 12-2 run to force the extra 5 minutes in the only game in thecountry on Saturday involving a Division I team.
Butler hit a 3-pointer 34 seconds into the overtime to give West Virginiathe lead for good.
The biggest plays of the overtime belonged to Jones, a freshman forward.
Ebanks missed a jumper as the shot clock wound down with 56 seconds to playand Jones grabbed the rebound. With 32 seconds left, Jones hit a 3 to give WestVirginia an 87-80 lead and the Pirates didn’t get closer than six points therest of the way.
That Seton Hall even had a chance to get the game to overtime was surprisingconsidering the Pirates finished 6 of 30 from 3-point range—4 of 19 by Hazell— and they shot less than 50 percent from the free throw line (16 of 33),including going 8 of 20 from the line after halftime.
Butler’s three-point play with 57 seconds left in regulation gave theMountaineers a 75-65 lead. Hazell hit a 3 to cap a 9-0 run that brought SetonHall within 75-74 with 15 seconds left. Butler made two free throws for athree-point lead with 12.9 seconds left. Hazell hit a 3 with 6.9 seconds left totie it and Ebanks missed a chance to win it when his 3-point attempt bounced offthe rim at the buzzer.
West Virginia has won five straight games in the series, including a 92-66blowout last season.