WVU Falls in 2OT

WVU Falls in 2OT
By John Antonik for MSNsportsNET.com
March 8, 2007

BOX SCORE

NEW YORK- Edgar Sosa may not have been around for overtime, but his running basket just ahead of the buzzer tied the game in regulation, and No. 2-seeded Louisville went on to defeat West Virginia 82-71 in two overtimes in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament.

An unfriendly Madison Square Garden clock helped Louisville tie the game after Darris Nichols put the Mountaineers ahead 58-56 with 4.3 seconds left in regulation. Once Nichols made the basket, the clock was slow to start after Louisville put the ball in play and that allowed Sosa the extra time needed to drive the length of the court to make the game-tying basket just ahead of the buzzer. It was just his eighth point of the game.

Louisville took control of the game in the second overtime, outscoring the Mountaineers 16-5.

West Virginia nearly overcame a 17-point second-half deficit -- the Mountaineers eventually taking the lead, 50-49, on a Da’Sean Butler short jumper with 5:01 remaining. A pair of Frank Young free throws with 4:19 left gave WVU a three-point advantage.

Terrence Williams tied the game at 54 with 2:49 remaining on a 3-point basket, but Butler gave the Mountaineers a 56-54 lead on another short bucket. Sosa tied the game at 56 with 26 seconds left before eventually fouling out in the first overtime.

Williams finished with a game-high 21 points on 7 of 16 shooting. Earl Clark scored 17, David Padgett added 16 and Brandon Jenkins added 11 for the Cardinals, now 23-8.

Frank Young scored 19, Da’Sean Butler had 17 and Jamie Smalligan added 13 for West Virginia, now 22-9 and its postseason hopes placed in the hands of the NCAA tournament selection committee.

West Virginia was 23 of 62 from the field for 37 percent, making just 7 of 31 from 3-point range for 23 percent.

Louisville was a little better hitting 29 of 63 for 46 percent. The Cardinals had 21 points on West Virginia’s 12 turnovers.

It was Louisville’s first win in Madison Square Garden in more than 20 years. The Cardinals advance to the semifinals to play Pittsburgh, which defeated Marquette in the fourth game of the day.

West Virginia will now have to wait until selection Sunday to find out its postseason destination.



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