Charleston, South Carolina –Â The West Virginia Mountaineers (3-1) fell to the Marquette Golden Eagles (5-0) 82-71 in the semifinals of the Charleston Classic.
West Virginia was up 12 points at halftime, but Marquette used a flurry of three pointers to get back in the game and take the lead in the second half, and the Golden Eagles never looked back.
The Mountaineers were led by Taz Sherman, who finished with 18 points and 5 assists. Sean McNeil had 12 points and 5 rebounds, and Jalen Bridges added 11 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists.
Observations:Â
After excellent effort in the first half, the Mountaineers appeared to stop playing defense, particularly on corner three pointers.
West Virginia needs to get Dimon Carrigan more minutes. He’s not only a far better defensive player than Isaiah Cottrell, he’s also a better rebounder.
Like Bob Huggins always says, “You aren’t going to win many games if you can’t hit a shot. In the second half, West Virginia couldn’t hit a shot.
The Mountaineers will now play Clemson on Sunday at 5:30PM in the loser’s bracket of the tournament.
