West Virginia hung tough in its first matchup against a ranked opponent this season, but No. 24 Virginia’s stifling defense controlled the tempo in a 56-54 win for the Cavaliers at the Fort Myers Tip-Off at Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers, Fla.
West Virginia (2-3) couldn’t get anything going against coach Tony Bennett’s trademark defense. The Mountaineers shot 19 of 51 (37.3%) from the field and made just 7 of 21 (33.3%) 3-point attempts. West Virginia also turned the ball over 16 times to the Cavaliers’ nine.
“Tony is somebody I’ve always admired, and it was great to line up and compete against them,” West Virginia interim coach Josh Eilert told The Associated Press. “At the end of the day, it was a couple of possessions. I told our guys we have a small margin for error. These are the challenges we face. We had 16 turnovers, so we gotta be better with the ball and get locked in.”
On the other end of the floor, West Virginia’s defense was solid, holding Virginia (5-1) to make only 4 of its 18 3-point attempts, good for 22.2%. The Mountaineers also outrebounded the Cavaliers 41-28.
West Virginia’s Jesse Edwards and Quinn Slazinski led all scorers with 17 points apiece. Edwards added nine rebounds. Ryan Dunn (13 points) and Reece Beekman (12 points) paced Virginia.
West Virginia now gets a few days off before returning to action at 5 p.m. Sunday at home against Bellarmine (2-4). That game can be streamed on ESPN+.
First Published: November 23, 2023, 1:35 a.m.
Updated: November 23, 2023, 2:05 a.m.
