Dalton Pepper

January 16, 2010 - 5:17pm
A pair of freshman guards, Syracuse’s Brandon Triche and West Virginia’s Dalton Pepper, sparked their respective programs in the first game between two top-10 teams in Morgantown, West Virginia since 1960.

Quantity nearly beat quality Saturday afternoon. Fifth-ranked Syracuse withstood a barrage of late three-pointers by No. 9 West Virginia, making just enough free throws to defeat the Mountaineers, 72-71, in Big East action.

West Virginia guard Darryl Bryant sank three free throws and an NBA three-pointer in the span of four seconds while the Orange missed three of four attempts at the charity stripe. The final attempt, a Kris Joseph clank with 2.5 seconds left, fell into the hands of All-Big East guard Da’Sean Butler who drew nothing but air on a three-quarter-court heave.