NCAAB Game Recap - Valparaiso at West Virginia
Sat Nov 24, 2018 2:00 PM EST

Leh
58
KSU
77
F
StFPA
37
VaTec
75
F
Maris
49
Buff
76
F
South
71
NCC
83
F
UNH
66
UConn
91
F
DeP
70
ND
95
F
NIU
74
JMU
78
F
Campbl
85
GTown
93
F
N AL
58
Troy
77
F
(N/A)
53
NOrl
97
F
NE
69
David
78
F
Amer
73
UMBC
69
F
W MI
61
Nich
62
F(OT)
(N/A)
76
Winth
116
F
Savan
80
Alc
75
F
Citad
84
SoFL
81
F
SacHr
73
Bingha
78
F
MTSt
65
NebOm
89
F
Colg
84
Sien
79
F
W IL
49
Nebras
73
F
Army
55
Mia-O
85
F
Detr
78
E MI
74
F
ChiSt
70
Brad
86
F
Evans
72
Ball
82
F
CBU
84
How
86
F
W Ky
54
IndSt
63
F
JU
65
WCU
77
F
Valpa
76
WVU
88
F
Rider
89
Merrim
65
F
Stony
68
URI
58
F
(N/A)
63
Penn
112
F
APSU
82
Ohio
85
F(OT)
NJIT
77
LIU
70
F
ORU
76
Oakl
87
F
(N/A)
58
UMKC
94
F
Longw
62
Denv
64
F
(N/A)
62
IlSt
79
F
Princ
60
Monm
57
F
StPet
66
N TX
75
F
Belm
91
KennSt
53
F
StJos
85
W&M
87
F
Gram
69
IUPUI
80
F
Iona
79
Prov
91
F
(N/A)
52
MD-ES
77
F
Manh
43
GrgWas
70
F
GMas
61
Baylor
72
F
CenAR
61
StLou
73
F
NDSU
61
ETSU
79
F
(N/A)
74
IL-C
94
F
ArkPB
75
ArkLR
66
F
HiPt
55
ECU
52
F
E IL
90
ArkSt
86
F(OT)
Dart
65
USF
84
F
UNCG
80
LaTec
73
F
USC-Up
74
CAPoly
75
F(OT)
N CO
62
TxTch
93
F
Mercer
74
NCSU
78
F
UND
68
UtVal
74
F
NoKY
53
UCF
66
F
Fairf
80
Seatt
83
F
SCla
71
SJSU
63
F
Hou
76
BYU
62
F
Colora
93
AF
56
F
Cin
71
Miss
57
F
StFNY
75
Niag
63
F
(N/A)
75
PorSt
91
F
Hof
67
VCU
69
F(OT)
UTEP
78
NM
84
F
UNCW
72
GWebb
81
F
TxSt
91
Portl
68
F
MOSt
66
Murr
77
F
UCRiv
48
AbCh
60
F
Harv
74
StMar
68
F
UCSB
66
Ida
55
F
JackSt
58
USD
76
F
CS-Ful
82
Sac
87
F(OT)
DelSt
52
WaSt
80
F
FlaAM
63
LoyMa
71
F
Elon
57
Pacif
65
F

Nov 24, 2018, 2:00 PM EST

Final

1

2

T

Valparaiso

36

40

76

West Virginia

39

49

88

Ahmad, Konate have career days as WVU beats Valpo 88-76
Sat Nov 24, 2018 5:45 PM

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) Esa Ahmad and Sagaba Konate lit up in the second half and combined for 56 points to lift West Virginia over feisty Valparaiso 88-76 on Saturday.

After starting the game with only two points, both coming from the foul line, Konate lit up the second half for the Mountaineers (3-2) with a career-high 26 points, including a career-high five three-pointers, and earned a double-double with 10 rebounds.

"Obviously, in the first half we (weren't) ready to play at all," Konate said. "The second half was a little bit better."

Ahmad's career-high 30 points led West Virginia throughout the game as Valparaiso (3-3) kept the game competitive in the first half, even taking the lead with over five minutes to play in the first half.

Lamont West added 11 points for WVU and had six rebounds of his own. Jermain Haley also grabbed six rebounds.

"We got beat by Western Kentucky because whoever got it, shot it," WVU head coach Bob Huggins said. "We can't do that. We run some motion and some curls and things, and (Konate) stepped back and got his shoulders square. He's worked really hard at that."

Four Crusaders finished in double figures with Derrik Smits leading with a near-career-high 20 points and seven rebounds.

"We were going to make Konate hit shots and beat us, and he did that," Valparaiso coach Matt Lottich said. "Bottom line he did that. If he can shoot the ball like that, he presents a real problem for other teams."

Ryan Fazekas finished with 15 points on the day, including nine from beyond the arc. Markus Golder added 13 points and Bakari Evelyn scored 10.

BIG PICTURE

Valparaiso: The Brown and Gold have failed to close out second half leads in losses to Western Kentucky and Wake Forest. The Crusaders will need to improve its second half offense in order to compete in the Missouri Valley.

West Virginia: The Mountaineers have struggled with cold shooting snaps from the field in the first half against Buffalo, Monmouth, Western Kentucky and Valparaiso (two of those games ended up being losses). Consistent shooting is something that needs to be improved as WVU nears its heavy non-conference schedule with Florida, Pitt and Rhode Island ahead.

FRESHMAN STANDOUT

West Virginia redshirt freshman Brandon Knapper got his first career start and delivered for the Mountaineers, scoring only two points but grabbed three rebounds and set up seven assists.

"We were counting on Knap more just because at the end of the year he got to play against Dax and JC in practice," Huggins said. "So, you'd think he's a little more used to what's going to come at him than what Jordan would be, for instance, or what Jermaine would be."

ROAD TESTED IN THE MISSOURI VALLEY

Lottich alluded to the Crusaders' tough early schedule after the loss to West Virginia.

"I don't think anyone in our conference has played the schedule that we had," Lottich said. "Our three losses have come to three pretty good teams. We lost to Western Kentucky, who beat West Virginia, and we played them pretty tight. We lost to West Virginia and we lost to Wake Forest, which is a game I thought we could've won."

He's arguably right, as the only major game a team from the Missouri Valley has on the road is Indiana State heading to 18th-ranked TCU on Dec. 16.

"We have got to find ways to come into a building like this and win a game," Lottich said.

TURNING POINT

Konate's second half provided a lot of excitement for the fans in Morgantown, but it all came down to a run halfway through the second half.

After Smits hit a layup with 10:19 left to play to cut the Mountaineer lead to 63-61, Konate responded with a three-pointer at the other end of the floor to put West Virginia up five.

After a couple of empty possessions on both sides, Konate made a layup and drew a foul against Evelyn. He sank the free throw and WVU went up eight with 8:47 left. The Crusaders never recovered.

UP NEXT

The Crusaders will head to Las Vegas to take on UNLV in the Mountain West/Missouri Valley Challenge on Wednesday.

The Mountaineers will continue their three-game homestand against Rider on Wednesday.

Leaders

Valparaiso PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
D. Smits 20 0 0 7 0 5
R. Fazekas 15 0 2 0 0 0
West Virginia PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
E. Ahmad 30 0 2 4 2 0
S. Konate 26 0 2 10 1 0

Team Comparison

Valpa WVU
Points For 76 88
Field Goals 30/56-54% 32/65-49%
Three Pointers 9/20-45% 7/17-41%
Free Throws 7/10-70% 17/22-77%
Offensive Rebounds 6 14
Defensive Rebounds 22 21
Rebounds 29 36
Blocks 6 2
Steals 3 6
Turnovers 14 7
Personal Fouls 20 11
Technical Fouls 0 0
Ejections 0 0

2018-19 Reg Season - WVU Leads Series 1-0

Date Result Away Pts Ldr Home Pts Ldr
Sat Nov 24 Valpa 76 @ WVU 88 D. Smits 20 E. Ahmad 30

Game Information

Stadium: WVU Coliseum, Morgantown, West Virginia
Attendance: 9,188
Game Time: