By Steve Keenan
Sports Editor
December 07, 2007 10:39 am
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MONTGOMERY — Mountain State University saw zone for the first time Tuesday.
And the opponent playing that defense against the Cougars — WVU Tech — saw many of MSU’s three-point goal attempts hitting the bottom of the net.
The Cougars landed 18-of-37 shots from beyond the arc, including a sizzling 10-of-17 in the second half, in running away from the Golden Bears 103-76.
Senior Adron Marshall powered the MSU point parade with a 25-point outburst, which included a 7-of-9 explosion from three-point land. James Spencer contributed 20 points, which included a 4-of-10 showing on three-pointers.
“That’s the first zone that’s been played against us this year,” said MSU coach Bob Bolen. “They were packing it in on us, and that (the three) was the shot that was there.
“If a team is going to sit in a zone, we’ll take it. It was our night tonight.”
Bolen and Tech coach Bob Williams both pointed to the fact that Tech had some success with the zone in the opening half. “We went to the zone when we were down 20 in the first half and made them stand around a little bit and went from down 20 to down 13,” said Williams. “We should have started man in the second half; they knew what they were looking for. They can flat out shoot. Unbelievable.”
“The first half (Tech had some success with the zone),” said Bolen. “We figured he’d come out in it in the second half.”
Leading 50-37 at the break, MSU’s Spencer buried a trey 12 seconds in, and Marshall added one from the left wing with 15:28 to go to make it 58-42. After
Tech eventually crept back to within 71-58 on a Brandon Moore three with 9:37 left, MSU went to work again from the perimeter. Marshall again led the charge by netting a trey from the left corner.
Teammates Spencer, Tyrice Watkins and Denzel Lyles accounted for a three-point goal apiece over the next 1:40, and MSU suddenly found itself up 85-60. “It quickly went from 13 to 25,” Williams said.
Tech never recovered from that final big surge.
In the first half, Moore helped keep Tech afloat with a trio of three-pointers, the last coming on an inbound play off an assist from Victor McGee that pulled the Bears to within 18-16 at the 12:57 mark.
Later, Marshall buried a trifecta from the left wing and Ermin Tarcin connected on one from the top of the key to help MSU push its cushion to 47-26 with 2:10 left in the opening half.
Then, Tech switched to its zone and went on an 11-3 run to close the half, with Brent Butler supplying five points during the stretch.
On more than one occasion during the contest, Tech whittled a 20-plus point deficit to a more manageable figure. Each time, MSU responded with a surge of its own to create more daylight.
“We couldn’t get it below 13,” said Williams, who added that defending MSU is a “pick your poison” situation. “That’s a whole different level. They have no weaknesses.”
Bolen praised the play of Marshall, saying the Aiken, SC native “has worked hard on his threes; he knows that’s a big part of the game.”
He also said Lyles (nine points on 3-of-4 accuracy from beyond the arc) “gave us a lift.”
And, Bolen liked that his defense limited Tech to 39.7 percent shooting (25-of-63). “Anytime you hold a team under 40 percent shooting, you’re doing something right.”
On the night, MSU passed out 29 assists, led by Jarvis Jackson’s six, and committed just seven turnovers. “We were very efficient with the ball,” Bolen explained.
Butler, averaging 21 ppg coming in, led Tech with 16 points but was hounded by MSU defenders most of the night. “We wanted to keep a lot of pressure on Butler,” Bolen said.
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In the accompanying women’s game, Lambuth (Tenn.) University, the defending NAIA champion, turned back WVU Tech 77-72.
Tech outshot Lambuth percentage-wise, 50.8 to 48.4, but the visitors landed 12-of-27 three-pointers to keep the Bears at bay.
Leading 37-31 late in the first half, Lambuth canned a pair of treys to take a 43-31 halftime lead. Tech later cut the deficit to 65-59 on a Shy Wright deuce with 7:46 to go. Lambuth stretched the margin back out to nine, 73-64, then Tech got it back to within five points, 73-68, with 3:13 left. The Bears could get no closer.
Yolanda Johnson led a balanced Lambuth offense with 21 points. Donna Lavea chipped in 18.
Wright produced a game-high 24 markers for Tech (5-6). She was 11-of-17 from the floor. Kierra Wilkins and Yahkesha Robinson added 10 points each, and Wilkins passed out six assists. Rachel Henry pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.
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The Tech and MSU men will both be in the field for the third annual Baisi Classic this weekend in Montgomery.
The Bears (4-5) will square off with Mid-Continent (Oh.) University at 7 p.m. Friday to initiate the three-day event.
MSU (8-0) returns to Montgomery Saturday for a 6 p.m. matchup against Mid-Continent, then the Cougars will face Lincoln (Penn.) Sunday at 2 p.m. to close out the Baisi event.
Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students.
— E-mail: skeenan@register-herald.com
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