FINAL: WVU drops game No. 2 73-65 to Monmouth

Guard Kobe Johnson dribbles during WVU’s opener vs. Missouri State Monday in Morgantown. (Photo: John Lowe)

Posted: Nov 10, 2023 / 06:40 PM EST

Updated: Nov 10, 2023 / 09:27 PM EST

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia men’s basketball’s nonconference home matchup against Monmouth is officially underway.

For watch details and a matchup preview, click here. For in-depth stories on the WVU roster, click here.

Follow along below for live updates of WVU-Monmouth:

2ND HALF

FINAL: Monmouth beats WVU 73-65.

0:20: Fruitless possession for the Mountaineers, and Monmouth gets the ball back with the same score.

0:28: WVU has the ball down 71-65.

0:42: Seth Wilson nails a three, and the Hawks are back at the stripe up 69-65.

0:50: The Hawks go to the free-throw line up 69-62.

1:28: Same score, but to make matters worse, Kobe Johnson is down on the floor with an injury.

1:53: Monmouth is up 69-58 with just under two minutes to play.

3:38: The Hawks take a 66-53 lead, and fans start hitting the exits.

5:31: With the Coliseum as loud as its been all night, Xander Rice drains a three to silence the crowd. Monmouth leads 61-53.

7:51: It seems like every time WVU generates a bucket, Monmouth has a response, and the Hawks take a 56-49 advantage into the under-eight timeout. The Hawks will have two shots at the line after the break.

11:54: Same score at the under-12 timeout. Monmouth is on top 49-44.

12:32: Harris drills a pair of freebies after a Flagrant 2 on Monmouth. WVU retains possession, and Slazinski scores to trim the lead to 49-44.

12:58: Jack Collins (10 points) and Xander Rice (15 points) continue to gash the WVU defense. The Hawks are up 49-40. The Mountaineers are 3-of-12 from the floor in the second half.

15:23: Edwards adds a bucket with a foul to cool the Monmouth run. The Hawks still lead 44-40.

15:36: The Hawks start the second half on an 12-5 run for a 42-38 lead. Slazinski has all five points for WVU.

19:30: The half starts with a Monmouth shot-clock violation.

1ST HALF

HALF: Jesse Edwards hits a buzzer-beating jumper off an offensive rebound, and WVU goes into halftime leading 33-32.

2:01: Monmouth calls a timeout after Quinn Slazinski nails a three and dishes a nice assist to Kobe Johnson for a layup and the 29-27 lead. All of WVU’s starters have five points or more.

3:23: At the under-four timeout, WVU trails 27-24. The Mountaineers are shooting 36% (9-of-25) from the field with seven turnovers. Edwards leads WVU scorers with six points.

4:56: The Hawks shoot three at the line following Edwards’ first foul of the night. After the free throws, Monmouth leads 27-22.

7:27: WVU and Monmouth are tied 22-22 at the under-eight timeout.

9:30: Mountaineers are up 18-17 after Kobe Johnson records a block, then goes coast-to-coast for the layup.

10:17: WVU slims the Monmouth lead to 17-16 after a pair of free throws from Josiah Harris.

12:00: Now Monmouth goes ahead 15-12 after another WVU turnover. That’s six on the night, and the Hawks have scored nine of their 15 points off turnovers.

13:22: The Mountaineers are up 12-10, but they’ve surrendered a pair of Monmouth buckets off turnovers in the last two minutes. WVU has four turnovers after suffering just seven all game vs. Missouri State.

15:27: Edwards has four points and WVU leads 7-4 at the under-16 timeout. The Mountaineers are 3-of-8 from the field.

19:40: WVU wins the tip, and we’re off. Jesse Edwards scores the first bucket of the day for a 2-0 lead.

PREGAME: WVU’s projected lineup is the same as Monday: