The Sports Xchange
Nov 24, 2017
Reserve guard Beetle Bolden scored 17 points and No. 23 West Virginia held Central Florida to 24.5-percent shooting during an 83-45 blowout at the AdvoCare Invitational in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on Friday.
Point guard Jevon Carter had 16 points, five assists and five steals and Sagaba Konate finished with 14 points and nine rebounds for the Mountaineers (5-1), who will face Missouri in Sunday's championship.
Tacko Fall had 11 points and eight rebounds for UCF (4-1), which committed 27 turnovers and made only 12 of 49 shots. The Golden Knights were shutout from 3-point range until the final two seconds, when Dayon Griffin's jumper left them 1 of 12.
West Virginia also got 14 points, four assists and four steals from Daxter Miles in handing UCF its worst beating since a 39-point loss to Florida International Jan. 25, 1997.
Konate blocked six shots, five more than Fall, his 7-foot-6 counterpart.
West Virginia shot 45.7 percent overall and 9-of-25 from beyond the arc.
The Golden Knights, last season's Division I leader in field-goal defense, held WVU to 1-of-7 shooting early until the Mountaineers went on a 24-1 run.
Bolden buried four 3s in the opening half and drew two charges for "Press Virginia," which led 43-20 thanks to its own defense creating 17 turnovers and holding UCF to 4-of-21 from the floor.
In Sunday's third-place game, UCF will meet St. John's.