Toyota Capital Classic

Toyota Capital Classic

By John Antonik for MSNsportsNET.com January 24, 2006 MEN'S GAME NOTES | WOMEN'S GAME NOTES MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia had the better record and the better team, but Marshall played the better game in last year’s Toyota Capital Classic in Charleston. Marshall beat West Virginia at its own game, hitting 13 of 29 3s to upset the No. 24-ranked Mountaineers, 59-55. West Virginia guard Frank Young scores two of eight points on Saturday against UCLA. The Mountaineers take on Marshall Wednesday night in Charleston. Rich Schmitt Photography In order to avoid another upset this year, West Virginia coach John Beilein admits his team’s offense and defense have to perform better than it did last year. “I thought we were out of sync a lot in that game last year,” Beilein said Monday. “I think in the Villanova game and the Marshall game we saw the value of having J.D. Collins on the floor. At that point we were having some problems even though D’or Fischer had a good game; we were having problems running our offense and defense as smoothly as we are now.” Beilein is also happy to be seeing some new faces on the Marshall roster this year. “I’m glad that A.W Hamilton and Ronny Dawn are not on the court anymore because they played a tremendous game,” he said. Hamilton was the game’s MVP with 17 points and Dawn finished with 15; the two combined to make 10 of Marshall’s 13 3-point baskets. “Everybody in the state knows that this is an exciting day when these two teams get together and play,” said Beilein. “It’s such an emotional crowd in Charleston. We look forward to this game every year and it’s always a tough one for both teams. The last three games were decided in the last possession and this one may be no different.” The one difficult aspect for both teams is the fact that game is right in the middle of their conference schedules. Following Wednesday’s game, West Virginia travels to New York City to take on St. John’s at Madison Square Garden on Sunday afternoon while Marshall takes off for Houston for a Saturday night game. “It’s better to play an emotional game during (the conference season) than to play an unemotional out-of-conference game,” Beilein admitted. “It was very hard if we were playing Savannah State at our place right now. And Marshall is obviously much better than any of those guaranteed games we bring in.” This year Marshall, although remodeled, is an improved team under third-year coach Ron Jirsa, who has the Herd 7-9 heading into Wednesday night’s game. Most recently, Marshall dropped a tough 53-51 decision to C-USA frontrunner Texas El Paso on Huntington on Saturday night. Six-five forward Markel Humphrey scored a game-high 14 points for Marshall, while 6-9 center Mark Patton and 5-11 guard Joe Miles contributed 10 each. Patton, a Cabell-Midland High product, is averaging a team-best 13.8 points per game and scored a season-high 28 points in a loss to South Carolina State on Dec. 29. Patton has reached double figures 12 times in 16 games and is shooting 48.8 percent from the floor. “I think Mark Patton is a terrific basketball player and I’ve always been impressed with him,” Beilein said. “Their ability for (Tre) Whitted to make shots, for Joe Miles to make shots and the few guys that Ron has there that are junior college kids and some freshmen: they’re getting better and better every day.” Travis Aikens, a 6-4 guard/forward, is averaging 11.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Aikens, a transfer from Daytona Beach Community College, has started seven of 15 games this season and came off the bench to score 9 in the UTEP loss. Miles is also averaging double figures (11.3) but is shooting only 35.4 percent from the floor this season. Whitted, a 6-4 guard, has started all 17 games and is averaging 7.1 points per contest. The Herd nearly upset No. 14-rated George Washington in Huntington back on Jan. 7, falling 79-73 in overtime. Patton led all Marshall scorers with 21 points while Humphrey added 15. “A trademark of Ron’s team is that they get better as the year goes on,” Beilein said. Marshall is looking to snap a season-long three-game losing streak to West Virginia, which comes into Wednesday’s game with the nation’s longest winning streak at 12 games. Most recently, the No. 9-rated Mountaineers (14-3) went out to UCLA and knocked off the No. 17-rated Bruins at Pauley Pavilion, 60-56. Mike Gansey scored a game-high 24 points and made a game-saving steal with 2.5 seconds left to preserve the victory for the Mountaineers. Gansey and senior center Kevin Pittsnogle are both averaging 19.8 points per game. Gansey has made an incredible 127 of 201 field-goal attempts for 63.2 percent, while Pittsnogle is nearly as efficient hitting 121 of 234 for 51.7 percent. Overall, West Virginia is shooting 46.8 percent as a team and has the nation’s best turnover-to-assist ratio at 330-to-152. Joining Pittsnogle and Gansey in West Virginia’s starting lineup are 6-5 junior forward Frank Young, 6-6 senior guard Joe Herber and 5-11 senior guard J.D. Collins. This group has started all 17 games for the Mountaineers. In order to avoid jetlag, Beilein opted to practice his team Sunday and instead give them Monday off. He hopes that will keep his team fresh for Wednesday’s game. “We’ll find out because this is uncharted waters with a long trip back,” Beilein said. “I will not know for sure until after we play and if we don’t play well we won’t use that as an excuse.” Tip off is slated for 8 pm and the game will be televised statewide on the Toyota Capital Classic Network (John Sanders and Frank Giardina). Stations carrying the game in West Virginia include WOWK (Charleston/Huntington), WVNS (Beckley), WBOY (Clarksburg), WTRF (Wheeling) and WJAL (Chambersburg, Pa.). The 10-6 WVU women face 10-6 Marshall before the men’s game at 5:30 pm. That game will be televised on West Virginia Public Television. There are no tickets remaining.