West Virginia

Celebrating on the Mountaintop
By Kyle C. Leach
March 28, 2010 - 1:08am
The East Regional final saw the last Big East team remaining advance to the Final Four behind the will and smarts of the head coach and gritty point guard.

Bob Huggins will take your tired, your poor, and your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Cousins, Kentucky chew up Big Red
By Kyle C. Leach
March 26, 2010 - 9:07am
The 2010 NCAA East Regional semifinals took place in the Carrier Dome Thursday night, schools from border state Kentucky and West Virginia advancing to Saturday’s final.

DeMarcus Cousins will not be provoked, not on the basketball court.

A big strong 19-year old playing at the East Regional of the NCAA Tournament, the Kentucky freshman center had his intelligence questioned, his back strained, and his patience tested over the last 24 hours.

Emotions came to a boil with 9 minutes remaining in the first half of a offensively challenged semifinal between the Wildcats and fan favorite Cornell. Cousins snared the rebound of teammates DeAndre Liggins wayward 3-pointer, and knocked to the floor by Cornell center Jeff Foote.

Mountaineers’ Truck breaks down before East Regional
By Kyle C. Leach
March 24, 2010 - 10:35pm
The Syracuse regional has the Big Red, the Big Blue, and now the Big Hurt. West Virginia lost its point guard to a foot injury yesterday; yet as they’ve done all season, keep rolling with the punches.

It’s February 23, 2002 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the University of Rochester is playing at Carnegie Mellon University in the final regular season game.

The Yellowjackets (21-4) need the victory to assure the at-large bid to the upcoming NCAA Tournament. I was a senior wing on Rochester, and with the game tied at 11-11, point guard Tim Sweeney (now an assistant coach at Elon University) got the outlet pass and passed the ball to me streaking up the sideline.

Mountaineers no match for Morrow
By Allie Berkowitz
March 1, 2010 - 11:52pm
Morrow makes up for an injured Michael on offense for a big win against No. 8 West Virginia in their final regular-season game

Syracuse ended their regular season on a high note Monday night, beating West Virginia 67-48. The team honored its seniors, Nicole Michael, Juanita Ward, Vionca Murray and Lynnise Nixon for Senior Day before the four women played their last home game in the Dome.

Fresh faces emerge in old-style Big East game
By Kyle C. Leach
January 16, 2010 - 6:17pm
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.

West Virginia scrambles Orange on Legends Day
By Kyle C. Leach
October 10, 2009 - 4:12pm
Big East rival Mountaineers control from the start, topping Syracuse, 34-13, Saturday afternoon.

The West Virginia offensive machine continued to roll, piling up 385 yards of offense to claim the Ben Schwartzwalder Trophy for the eight consecutive season with a 34-13 win over hometown Syracuse in front of 40,134 fans at the Carrier Dome.

Football Friday - West Virginia
By Kyle C. Leach
October 9, 2009 - 1:05am
Syracuse battles longtime foe at noon in the Carrier Dome.

Headed down hill in this six-game homestand, the Orange play WVU at high noon.

I LIKE MIKE: Last week Halftime Snack touted SU senior wide receiver Mike Williams as a Heisman Trophy candidate. Pressure bears no weight on M-Dubz’ shoulders! The top defense in the Big East Conference, the South Florida Bulls, employing two defensive backs, and the hometown quarterback under-throwing and overthrowing.  Williams responds with two high-flying catches for touchdowns while nearly breaking Art Monk’s catches record (14 set in 1977).