The DeVries era at West Virginia has its first big moment, at the expense of one of the favorites to win the national championship this season.
The Mountaineers upset No. 3 Gonzaga 86-78 in overtime Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament on Paradise Island, Bahamas. That improves Darian DeVries’ first team to 4-1 and suggests big leaps since an 86-62 loss at rival Pitt on Nov. 15.
Also, it demonstrates the importance of the other DeVries, 6-7 senior wing Tucker, whose stint with the Mountaineers should be much shorter than his father’s. Down five with less than 20 seconds left in regulation, DeVries came off a screen and nailed a long 3-pointer to make it 71-69. After the ensuing inbounds pass, he picked Nolan Hickman cleanly, took it the other way, got fouled and made two clutch free throws with 5.9 seconds left. That forced an extra session that was controlled by the underdog.
DeVries, the two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year while playing for his father at Drake, ended up with 16 points, six rebounds and four assists. Teammate and Oklahoma State transfer Javon Small went off for 31 points. West Virginia moves on to play another surprise team in the semis, Louisville, which crushed No. 14 Indiana 89-61.
Braden Huff had 17 off the bench for Mark Few’s team, and Khalif Battle scored 16. But Gonzaga (5-1) got just 12 points and 2-for-16 shooting combined from stars Ryan Nembhard and Graham Ike. The Bulldogs came in with one of the most efficient offenses in the country but had a mortal 1.026 points per possession and shot 40 percent from the floor. West Virginia was more physical and more precise in its execution late.
Gonzaga already has a season-opening rout of Baylor on its resume and has major tests ahead, beyond the Bahamas – Kentucky on Dec. 7 in Seattle and UConn on Dec. 14 in New York.
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(Photo: Kevin Jairaj / USA Today)
