MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — By his own admission, Sagaba Konate was a man playing nearly on empty during the first half Saturday.
There was no real reason given — Konate said his sore right knee didn’t bother him at all — but West Virginia coach Bob Huggins did have a theory:
“I think people have stopped challenging him at the rim,” Huggins said after the Mountaineers downed Valparaiso, 88-76, in front of 9,188 at the WVU Coliseum. “If you kind of think back, he got a lot of energy and enthusiasm by blocking shots and he didn’t block a shot today. People aren’t attacking him. They come in and jump-stop or dump it down or pitch it out for a three.”
In any sense, Konate was revitalized in the second half via the 3-point shot.
Held to only two free throws in the first half, the 6-foot-8 forward hit a hot streak in a game that had plenty of them.
“Once he started making them, I just wanted him to keep going,” forward Lamont West said.
Konate obliged, as he hit three 3-pointers and added a slam dunk and a mini-hook in the paint for 13 points over the first four minutes of the second half.
He added a fourth three and then scored on a drive from the top of the key after faking a 3-point attempt for an and-one 3-point play.
“It was kind of tough to pass up a shot after a while,” Konate said.
No doubt.
By the time his night was complete, Konate hit five 3-pointers in the second half and scored a career high 26 points just when it seemed like it was going to be a ho-hum type of game for him.
“Coach [Erik] Martin and coach Huggins got on me at halftime about my attitude,” Konate said. “They were right. My effort wasn’t that good in the first half. In the second half, it was a little bit better.”
Esa Ahmad added plenty of help. He also set a career high with 30 points and West added 11.
In a game that starting point guard Beetle Bolden and forward Wes Harris both sat out because of a “coach’s decision,” according to Huggins, the Mountaineers (3-2) used their front court to do its damage.
“Nobody has to get 30, but all of those guys have to contribute,” Huggins said. “We thought going in, Esa, Lamont, Wes, Sags, Logan [Routt], Drew [Gordon]; we thought our front line would be pretty good,” Huggins said. “It is good, but it’s not very consistent. They’ve got to get more consistent.”
Including freshman forward Emmitt Matthews Jr., who added five points and five rebounds off the bench, West Virginia’s collection of forwards and centers combined for 78 of the 88 points and 25 of the team’s 35 rebounds.
West Virginia showed it is still trying to find consistency on defense, too.
Valparaiso (3-3) nearly went shot-for-shot with Konate and Ahmad during a second half that saw the Crusaders make 16 field goals and shoot 59.3 percent from the field.
It wasn’t until Konate’s drive to the rim after faking a 3-pointer with 8:47 remaining that West Virginia’s lead felt somewhat safe at 69-61.
And even then, both teams combined for 35 points down the stretch.
“Listen, I’ve tried everything,” Huggins said. “We tried a 1-3-1 earlier in the year, which used to be pretty good for us. We were going to play a 1-1-3, but the 1-1-3 is a little harder.
“I thought we’d just go in with the old church league 2-3 and make them shoot it over us and they shot lay-ups. The search [for a good] defense is ongoing.”
The search for Konate’s energy level may be over.
“It’s big for us when he’s making shots like that,” Ahmad said. “It opens up the floor for the rest of us and it kind of gets the rest of us going, too.”
Notes
♦ It appeared Bolden was healthy enough to play, but Huggins’ “coach’s decision” to keep him and Harris on the bench meant Bolden missed his second consecutive game.
“Beetle is banged up, but that wasn’t the reason he didn’t play,” Huggins said. “He’s got a bunch of swelling and inflammation in his elbow, and of course, it’s his shooting elbow.”
Huggins added that the team wants to wait until the inflammation goes down before letting Bolden practice again, and then it will be a matter of getting him back in shape.
“It’s going to be awhile,” Huggins said.
♦ Huggins also said Lamont West’s right wrist is swelling up some and giving the forward some discomfort.
West had surgery in the offseason to repair three torn ligaments.
“Lamont had to go out of practice [Friday], because his wrist was hurting so bad,” Huggins said. “There is a lot of swelling in it. You’ve got to be able to get through the ball to be able to make it. It’s hard to do when you have swelling and inflammation in your wrist. It’s the one he had surgery on.”
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