First Round Recap – Albuquerque Region
CLEVELAND – The West Virginia/Creighton match-up came as close to having a buzzer-beater you can without actually having one.
After a missed shot by Creighton’s Tyler McKinney, which would have given the Blue Jays the lead with under five seconds remaining, it was instead the Mountaineers who took an outlet pass by Mike Gansey, a graduate of nearby Olmstead Falls, to Tyrone Sally with a rim-rocking slam dunk with 1.7 seconds left to give West Virginia a 63-61 lead.
Creighton attempted to hit a shot at the buzzer by Nate Funk, but missed long, preserving the victory for West Virginia.
West Virginia (22-10) advances to play Wake Forest (27-5) on Saturday following the UW-Milwaukee/Boston College game at the Wolstein Center. That game begins at 5:30 p.m. (EST).
The Mountaineers hit 6-of-13 three-pointers in the first half. WVU came into the game having attempted 795 three-pointers, attempted only three in the first 13 minutes of the second half.
The defense was stifling at both ends of the floor. Creighton could only muster a 7-for-20 shooting performance in the second half.
Kevin Pittsnogle of West Virginia led the way for the Mountaineers with 17 points.
