Shuffle off to Buffalo… The West Virginia Mountaineers, Big East Conference Tournament Champions, will open NCAA Tournament play Friday as they take on the Morgan State Bears in Buffalo.
The Mountaineers are the No. 2 seed in the East Region. They attained that seed by virtue of their 60-58 win over Georgetown in the Big East Championship game. It was the first Big East Tournament Championship won by WVU since joining the league for basketball in 1995.
The No. 2 seed is the highest by West Virginia in school history. The Mountaineers have made the NCAA tournament in all three of the seasons Bob Huggins has coached the team.
You can hear West Virginia battle Morgan State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, Friday morning on J104.5. Mountaineers Today is at 11:30, opening tip at 12:15
Four in a row for Summers County…
The Summers County Lady Bobcats won their fourth consecutive state AA championship, the latest 58-50 over the Scott Skyhawks.
The Lady Bobcats finished the season 28-0 and will carry a 68 game winning streak into next season.
Hallie Gunnoe led all scorers with 31 points. She also pulled down 10 rebounds and dished out six assists. The Lady Bobcats’ 58 points were their lowest point total of the season.
Summers County joins Mercer Christian as the only girls team to win four straight titles. MCA accomplished the feat between 1999 and 2002.
In Class AAA North Marion won its second consecutive championship as they beat South Charleston 58-45 and St. Joesph’s beat St. Marys 58-44 for the single A crown.
Warriors stop Beavers…
It was an instant classic, the Region III game between the Bluefield Beavers and Wyoming East Warriors. Before a jammed-packed crowd the Beavers’ Craig Ponder dropped in 56 points, but it was a floater in the lane with five seconds left by Chase Morgan that gave Wyoming East an 83-81 victory.
Bluefield battled back from 15 and 13 point deficits to take the lead on the shoulders of Ponder. Morgan was key for East as he scored 32 points in the contest.
With the win Wyoming East, now 20-2 on the season, advances to the state tournament next week in Charleston. Bluefield finished the season with a 16-8 record.
In the other Region III contest Oak Hill won a spot in the state tournament with a 59-49 win over the PikeView Panthers. It will be the fourth consecutive state tournament appearance for the Red Devils who are now 18-4. PikeView concludes the season with a 16-5 mark.
Butler’s trey lifts Mountaineers…
Da’Sean Butler nailed a three from the top of the key at the buzzer to lift the West Virginia Mountaineers to a 54-51 win over the Cincinnati Bearcats in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden. West Virginia will play Notre Dame tonight in the semifinals. Hear the action beginning with The Mountaineers Today, this evening at 9 o’clock on J104.5.
Turning to the Conference USA Tournament it is one and done for the Marshall Thundering Herd. Marshall, the fourth seed fell 80-64 to Tulsa in the conference quarterfinals.
Marshall 23-9 awaits Selection Sunday to see where they will next play. It is expected the Herd will be extended a bid to the National Invitational Tournament.
