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Losses Leading To Frustration

MORGANTOWN — As the losses continue to mount for the Mountaineers, the frustration of another disappointing setback was evident on every player that came into the interview room following WVU’s latest defeat, 65-51, to Big 12 leader Kansas State.

But with the frustrations come hope that a freshman class which put three of its players in WVU’s starting lineup for the first time this season — Derek Culver, Emmitt Matthews Jr., and Brandon Knapper — would begin the slow process of bringing the Mountaineers back in 2018-19.

One of those dealing with the frustrations from both a team and personal aspect is Culver, who has earned the nickname, ‘Double-D,’ for his scoring and rebounding.

Monday was no different as the Youngstown native hauled down a game-high 13 rebounds and scored 11 points.

“It’s kind of frustrating (getting double- and triple-teamed), but it also feels good because people are respecting me and my game,” Culver said. “It’s also hard because I can’t always get the ball to the guy that I want to get it to because of all of the hands and arms that are coming at me from every direction.”

Culver was one of three Mountaineers to reach double figures as junior Lamont West finished with 16 points and Knapper chipped in 10 – seven in the second half.

“It’s just stuff we’ve got to get better at,” said Knapper. “Coach (Huggins) told us at the half that it’s the little things that are killing us.”

Especially turnovers.

WVU committed only 15 — nine less than it did in Saturday’s blowout at No. 13 Kansas — but the Wildcats turned those into 19 points.

And seven of those came during the most critical point in the game. With the game tied at 42-42 thanks to a Culver layin at the 11:55 mark of the second half, K-State proceeded to go on a 14-0 run to take a 56-42 advantage with 7:36 left in the game.

“A lot of that was on me,” Culver said. “I let the open guy slip past me in our zone and he would be the one to make the open shot. I’ve got to be better in my recognition of what the other team is trying to do against our zone.”

KSU placed three players in double digits with senior Barry Brown leading the way with a game-high 21 points. Xavier Sneed chipped in 19 and Dean Wade added 10.

Turnovers continued to plague West Virginia during the first 20 minutes of action as the Wildcats made the most of 10 Mountaineer miscues to tally seven points and take a two-point, 30-28, lead into the intermission.

Culver and West were the two best offensive weapons for Huggins squad with eight and nine points, respectively. Like he did in their earlier meeting, KSU’s Brown continued to be a thorn in the side of the Old Gold and Blue with 10 points, including the final one with .3 seconds left to give the visitors the two-point lead.

Moundsville’s Chase Harler saw 22 minutes of action, finishing with three points, one rebound, one assist and one turnover. Cameron’s Logan Routt got seven minutes on the court but did not score.

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