Tyler Kolek scored 18 points and Justin Lewis added 17 as Marquette rallied for an 82-71 victory over West Virginia in the semifinals of the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic in South Carolina on Friday.
Marquette (5-0) dealt West Virginia (3-1) its first loss of the season to advance to Sunday’s title game against No. 22 St. Bonaventure (4-0), which knocked off Clemson 68-65 in the other semifinal.
Kameron Jones added 12 points by going 4-for-6 from the 3-point line, while Kolek, who had a game-high eight assists, went 4-for-8 and Lewis 3-for-7 from distance. The Golden Eagles shot 46.2 percent (12-for-26) from beyond the arc, including a blistering 61.5 percent (8-for-13) in the second half.
Trailing 54-42 with just over 16 minutes left, Marquette mounted a comeback. The Golden Eagles went on a 13-0 run that featured two 3-pointers by Kolek and another by Lewis to take a 55-54 lead with 13:25 remaining.
After the Mountaineers rallied to tie the game at 60, the Golden Eagles countered with a 12-5 run to take a 72-65 lead they wouldn’t relinquish on a 3-pointer by Jones with 5:39 remaining.
West Virginia was led by Taz Sherman, who had game-high 21 points to go along with five assists, while Sean McNeil had 12 points and Jalen Bridges added 11. The Mountaineers shot 42.2 percent (27-for-64) from the field and 36.8 percent (7-for-19) on 3-point attempts. They were also outrebounded 37-32.
The Mountaineers tried to take control of the game by going on a 9-2 in the final three minutes of the first half to widen a five-point lead to 12 at 47-35 at halftime.
Nine Mountaineers scored in the first half, led by Sherman’s 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting, with McNeil adding nine points and three assists. West Virginia shot 58.1 percent (18-for-31) from the field, including 5-for-7 on 3-point attempts, in addition to scoring 13 points off seven Marquette turnovers.
–Field Level Media
