Sherman, Curry Help Edge Eastern Kentucky With Late Run

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – In a fast paced non-conference matchup, a late run by WVU guards Taz Sherman and Malik Curry helped edge Eastern Kentucky, winning 80-77.

Out of the gates, Eastern Kentucky (5-2) started the game shooting 4-of-4 from three, scoring 12 points in the first 2:21 of play.

Eastern Kentucky shot 14-of-29 (48 percent) from three on Friday night.

The Colonels showed why they’re third in the country in tempo, scoring 30 points in the first 10 minutes of the game.

At one point, Eastern Kentucky led 30-18 in the first half.

Once again, fifth-year senior Gabe Osabuohien was the man to help get West Virginia (5-1) back into the game. Osabuohien seemed to be the only player to show any energy early-on. Osabuohien was rebounding the ball, scoring the ball and creating EKU turnovers. The Canadian native recorded his ninth charge drawn on the season.

Osabuohien finished with eight points on 4-of-6 shooting. Osabuohien had seven rebounds, two assists, a block and two charges drawn.

In the first half, Eastern Kentucky hit their threes, while West Virginia did not. EKU shot 7-of-15 from three. WVU shot 2-of-13. The Mountaineers struggled to make their shots from the free-throw line, as they shot 8-of-16 from the charity strike.

Colonels went into the half with a 41-38 lead over the Mountaineers.

In their very first possession of the second half, Eastern Kentucky went down and hit a three. It seemed all too familiar for this WVU defense.

A difference from the first half is that West Virginia was hitting their free-throws, which helped them get back into the game. WVU shot 11-of-15 from the free-throw line in the second half.

For a good portion of the second half, WVU struggled to take the lead over due to the pace that the Colonels were scoring at.

Then, Taz Sherman and Malik Curry took over the WVU offense. In the final 13 minutes, the duo combined for 22 points.

Curry hit the final three field-goals of the game for the Mountaineers. The Colonels could not handle Curry’s driving into the paint.

Sherman led the Mountaineers in scoring against Eastern Kentucky, with 28 points. The fifth-year senior shot 8-of-15 from the field on his career-high night.

Curry scored a season-high of 16 points. The Old Dominion transfer also had two assists and shot 6-of-8.

West Virginia will get a few days off until they host newer D-I member Bellarmine  on Tuesday night, inside the WVU Coliseum. The game is set to tip-off at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.