Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Triumphs Over WVU, 81-79
1/24/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Marshall Triumphs Over WVU, 81-79
1/24/2002
- Box Score
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Tamar Slay's layup with 35 seconds left in overtime lifted Marshall University to an 81-79 victory over West Virginia University on Wednesday night before a capacity crowd of more than 12,000 at the Charleston Civic Center.
Slay, a 6-9 senior guard, scored 20 of his 23 points in the second half. Ronald Blackshear added 20 points and J.R. VanHoose had 12 points and 18 rebounds. Junior Monty Wright added 10 points and five assists in the victory that snapped Marshall's five-game losing streak in the series and sent West Virginia to its eighth straight defeat.
Freshman Drew Schifino scored 18 points to lead six players in double figures for West Virginia.
Marshall (9-8) won despite allowing a 15-point second-half lead to slip away.
Some of West Virginia's comeback occurred after a 14-minute delay when a fire alarm sounded and the sellout crowd of 12,308 was asked to leave the Charleston Civic Center. Fire officials said it was a false alarm.
West Virginia (7-10) has dropped eight consecutive games for the first time since the 1936-37 season, when it lost nine straight.
Lionel Armstead, the hero of West Virginia's three previous wins over Marshall, had a quiet night with just 11 points. But he hit a fadeaway jumper with 1:08 left in overtime to tie the game at 79-79.
Slay grabbed a partially blocked shot from Blackshear, turned in midair and laid the ball in for the final margin. The Beckley native and Marshall senior contributed seven rebounds and three steals in addition to his game-high 23 points.
West Virginia's Jay Hewitt missed a layup with four seconds left. VanHoose got the rebound and was fouled to finish the Mountaineers.
Hundreds of Marshall fans stormed the court after the game.
Chris Moss added 16 points for West Virginia. Josh Yeager scored 13, Jay Hewitt had 11 and Chaz Briggs 10.
The last four meetings between the two schools have been decided by six points or less.
