MORGANTOWN — West Virginia came out for their opening game of the season without any energy, without their true Mountaineer mascot and without Devin Ebanks.
They eventually got charged with some energy.
And backup Mountaineer Brock Burwell filled in for Rebecca Durst, the second female Mountaineer in school history, out with “a personal issue.”
They never did get Ebanks back.
Playing without their second high scorer from a year ago and a player who is expected to be a lottery draft pick either this year or next, the Mountaineers drew their inspiration from senior Da’Sean Butler and freshman Dan Jennings as they broke open a 31-31 tie at halftime and ran away from Loyola of Maryland, 82-60, before an insultingly small crowd of 8,316.
There was not much information coming forth on Ebanks’ absence from the Coliseum.
“He has some personal issues to work through,” said Coach Bob Huggins.
And that was that.
“You guys are really good at getting people to say things and I’m really good at not saying anything,” Huggins told the media as it tried to press for some details or if this was a team-related problem. “We could continue on and it could be a standoff and I could to say the same thing or we could let it go.”
Later, when asked if he had any timetable for Ebanks’ return, Huggins smiled slyly, as if to say “There you go again.” But all he did say was that he had no idea and that they’d go on without him until he could return.
Once thought to be tremendously deep in the frontcourt, Huggins now is without Ebanks and without Deniz Kilicli, the talented Turkish center/forward, who has been banned from playing for 20 games by the NCAA for participating in his native country on a team with a paid professional.
Guard Joe Mazzulla, who was the starting point guard last year until injuring a shoulder in the fifth game and undergoing season-ending surgery, dressed but did not play in the opener, although Huggins maintains he could play if necessary.
And, by halftime, there was another loss, forward John Flowers being sent to the hospital with an ankle injury. Huggins said x-rays were negative and that he thought Flowers would be all right, but you never really know how long an ankle injury will take to heal.
Certainly it will take longer than it took for Huggins to heal what ailed his team in the first half, a half in which WVU had three shots blocked and threw up seven air balls while shooting just 32.4 percent.
“We came out with a lack of energy at the beginning,” said Kevin Jones, who wound up starting in place of Ebanks rather than providing energy off the bench as he usually does. Jones finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.
“It just wasn’t there,” added Truck Bryant, the starting point guard. “When we walked off the court tied, we were shocked.”
Huggins had a nice halftime “pep talk” planned.
What did he say?
“You don’t want to know,” he admitted.
Let’s just say that as bad as it was, it would have been worse if it weren’t for Butler and Jones.
“I don’t know where we would have been without Da’Sean,” Huggins said, lauding his senior leadership.
And as for Jennings, the 6-8, 260-pound freshman, well, the Mountaineers trailed 20-13 and looked as if they could not care less about it.
Within four seconds Jennings had his first official collegiate foul, actually being part of a double foul with the other No. 30 on the floor, Julius Brooks.
Seventeen seconds later he blocked a shot and minute later he grabbed his first rebound, went under the basket and laid it in.
The fans were now roaring, the Mountaineers were jumping, and WVU was streaking.
The Mountaineers ran off 10 straight points to take the lead, and while they could not shake loose until the second half, they came out smoking in the second half outscoring the Greyhounds 52-29 to win going away.
And fittingly enough, Jennings closed the game by blocking a shot and then taking a pass from Jonnie West and slamming it home, his third slam dunk of the game.
Jennings, who is raw as an offensive player, missed a double-double by a single point, scoring nine with 12 rebounds and three blocks. Butler led the Mountaineers with 26 while Bryant had 15 and newcomer Casey Mitchell 13, although Mitchell was just 3 for 11 from the field.
E-mail Bob Hertzel at bhertzel@hotmail.com.
Bob Herzel
Filling the void
With Ebanks out, others carry load in WVU victory
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