BLUEFIELD, West Virginia — WVU Tech fell to Bluefield State College in non-conference action Wednesday evening, falling 87-65. Bluefield State (4-9) jumped out fast on the Golden Bears (9-8), taking a 10-0 lead on two 3s by Greg Purnell and a terrific alley-opp dunk by Shawn Duhon on a pass from Antonio Watson to open the game. Chris Melton added a 3 for a 13-2 advantage, with the Golden Bears' first points coming on offensive goaltending by a leaping Duhon, who finished with 19 points, six rebounds and five blocked shots.
WVU Tech was able to narrow the margin to 23-16, but the Blues continued to attack on the offensive end, taking a 45-28 lead into the break, with the final points coming on a 3-point shot by Richlands' Luke Phillips. Another local product, Wayne Brookman from PikeView, scored two points late in the game.
"They can score, they have a high-powered offense and they played a really tough schedule, they are better than their record and we knew that going in," said Bob Williams, whose Golden Bears have lost three players to injuries and are now blending two newcomers into the lineup. "They are good here, they almost beat (Alderson-Broaddus) the other day. They have played a tough schedule, they are athletic, they blocked a lot of shots and they had a bunch of dunks too."
Despite a wide-open transition offense, the Big Blues were efficient with the ball, dishing out 18 assists and committing just 11 turnovers in the game. They also blocked nine shots, including five by Duhon and four from Joseph Adeyemo, who also had nine points, six boards and three steals.
Led by Thomas Collins with 18 points and 16 from Brandon Shingles, the Bears trimmed the halftime margin to 49-39, but the Big Blues answered right back, on a 3-pointer and a layup by Williams, who had 18 of his points after the break, all of which came off the bench. Bluefield State, which canned 11 3-pointers compared to nine for the Bears, built its second half lead to as much as 26.
WVU Tech will play River States Conference rival Rio Grande on Saturday in Charleston before finally hosting Asbury (Ky.) next Tuesday in the Golden Bears' first home game since December 12.
