Mountaineers cruise past the Bulldogs

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Citadel's first foray against a top-10 college basketball team this season ended with a 69-50 loss to No. 8 West Virginia on Tuesday night.

Reserve forward John Flowers scored 13 points to lead West Virginia (2-0), which never trailed before a sellout crowd of 12,348 at the Charleston Civic Center.

Junior guard Cameron Wells led the Bulldogs with 19 points, while Zach Urbanus had 12 and Joe Wolfinger 11.

The Mountaineers had a nine-day layoff after their season opening win over Loyola on Nov. 15, while the Bulldogs were playing their fourth game in five days, all on the road.

"They are hard to play against, because they shoot the ball so well and they spread you so much," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said of the Bulldogs, who hit 9 of 16 from 3-point range.

"They did a great job, particularly in light of the fact that this was their fourth game in five days. They are extremely well-coached."

Kevin Jones added 11 points and Darrell Bryant and Casey Mitchell scored 10 each for West Virginia, which scored 24 points off of 19 Citadel turnovers.

"West Virginia was long, athletic, and well-rested," said Citadel assistant coach Doug Novak. "Their athleticism, we were aware of it. But when you are on the floor with them for the first time, it kind of shocked our guys a little bit."

The Bulldogs (3-3) ended a four-game road swing with a 2-2 mark, including winning two of three games in the Hispanic College Fund Classic in Springfield, Mo.

"The good thing about playing a team like West Virginia is that exposes certain weaknesses," said Novak, who filled in for an ill Ed Conroy on postgame interviews. "Now, we'll refocus and have a great opportunity to get better and get ready for league play."

The Citadel will get another shot at a top-10 team when No. 2 Michigan State comes to McAlister Field House on Dec. 7.

Wells made 8 of 17 shots from the field and added six rebounds, four assists and three steals, but was harassed into eight turnovers. Wolfinger hit 3 of 5 from 3-point range and Urbanus 4 of 6 as the Bulldogs shot 56.3 percent from distance.

"Wells is a good player, and we knew that coming in," Huggins said of the 6-1 junior. "He's got that strong base that can kind of knock you off the ball a little bit. He gives them the ability to play off the bounce. They run a great offense and are so well-coached, and then he gives them someone at the end of the clock that can make the shot."

West Virginia had a 14-6 edge on the offensive glass and scored 13 second-chance points while holding a 35-14 edge on points in the paint.

"They are a phenomenal offensive rebounding team," Novak said. "They had 14 against us tonight, which was really not too bad."

The Citadel trailed by nine at the half, but could get no closer in the final 20 minutes. The Bulldogs hung within 14 points at 62-48 after a 3-pointer by Urbanus and a bucket from Austin Dahn.

But the Mountaineers reeled off the next seven points to push their lead to 21 in the final minutes.

The Mountaineers built leads of 23-7 and 32-16 in the first half, but the Bulldogs closed with an 8-1 run to cut the halftime margin to 33-24.

Huggins earned his 641st career victory, tying him with Billy Tubbs on the NCAA Division I all-time list. Mountaineers star Devin Ebanks, who has been out with "personal issues", dressed for the game but did not play.

The Citadel lost at West Virginia by 63-36 in 2006, in the first game of what was to be a 2-for-1 deal, with the Mountaineers due to travel to McAlister Field House in return.

That trip never materialized, and West Virginia eventually bought out the remainder of the series for $90,000, according to the Charleston (W.Va.) Daily Mail.

The Citadel will host the first CollegeInsider.com Skip Prosser Classic this weekend, facing Virginia-Wise on Saturday and Central Connecticut State on Sunday at McAlister Field House.