WVU storms back to knock off St. John’s
Da'Sean Butler scored a season-high 33 points, hitting all seven 3-point attempts, in leading the Mountaineers to a win over St. John's on Saturday at Madison Square Garden. The Associated Press
NEW YORK — The St. John’s players could hear West Virginia coach Bob Huggins yelling at his team from down the hall during halftime.
“It was the usual stuff,” Mountaineers star guard Da’Sean Butler said with a laugh. “He was telling us what we needed to do — and what would happen if we didn’t do it.”
What they needed to do: switch to a 1-3-1 zone to pick up the defensive intensity, insert veteran Joe Mazzulla for his hardworking influence, and get the ball to Butler.
No. 6 West Virginia did all that in the second half Saturday to rally from a 16-point deficit and beat the Red Storm, 79-60.
Butler scored a season-high 33 points, hitting all seven 3-point attempts. He was 2 of 7 from the field in the first half, 7 of 11 after the break.
The Mountaineers (19-3, 8-2 Big East) trailed, 45-32, more than 6 minutes into the second half before scoring 16 straight points to take the lead for good.
Wellington Smith scored the first eight points of the run with two 3-pointers sandwiched around a putback.
Then Butler took over. He had four 3-pointers — plus an old-fashioned three-point play — in just over 5 minutes, and suddenly a potential upset was transformed into a comfortable victory. His seven 3-pointers were a career high.
“I don’t know about 3s, but (Huggins) wanted me to be aggressive,” Butler said, “and he set up some plays for me.”
West Virginia has won 10 straight against the Red Storm (12-10, 2-8).
“It’s always good when the other four guys are looking for Da’Sean,” Huggins said. “That makes us better.”
Huggins wasn’t sure what the past tense of the word “sleepwalk” is, just that it described his team’s first-half performance. West Virginia hit three of its first seven shots to take a 10-4 lead. The Mountaineers were 4 of 22 the rest of the half, scoring just nine points over a stretch of nearly 16 minutes.
Read More – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
