West Virginia-Marshall rivalry heats up in annual Capital Classic

With a seven-point lead and 3.7 seconds remaining on the clock, West Virginia point guard Truck Bryant ran across the court to the Marshall student section and motioned for them to quiet down.

"I guess they thought they were the best in the state," Bryant said. "But this is our state right now."

It was Bryant's late steal and assist to Da'Sean Butler whose free throws helped the Mountaineers seal their fourth straight win over Marshall Wednesday.

"It was pretty good to see everybody in green leaving the bleachers," Butler said about Marshall's fans leaving before the final buzzer.

But the play only was the start of the action inside the Charleston Civic Center. In what most Mountaineer players called "a typical rivalry game," 40 personal fouls were handed out in the contest while even Thundering Herd head coach Donnie Jones got in on the action, receiving a technical foul after Bryant's signal to the crowd.

After the end of the game while the teams were shaking hands, WVU head coach Bob Huggins had to be held back by assistant Larry Harrison. Some in attendance speculated the incident could've been the result of signs in the Marshall student section.

Marshall students had multiple signs directed toward WVU players including one that said "D.U.I." as well as one that read
"Thanks for the football team (and coach)" referring to former WVU assistant football coach and newly named MU head coach Doc Holliday who received three verbal commitments by former West Virginia recruits this month.

"It was just a little fun," Bryant said of the incident.

While each school sold out of its allotted tickets, noticeably more Marshall students were on hand for the game and made it "almost like an away game" according to WVU junior Joe Mazzulla due the vicinity from Huntington, W.Va., to Charleston.

Huggins said the game needs to remain at the Civic Center, however, to allow fans who normally can't attend games in either Morgantown or Huntington to see the games.

The coach's opinion also may be skewed by WVU's success in the state's capital, though. The win was the Mountaineers 55th in the Civic Center and 28th against Marshall.

"We won this for everybody in the state," Butler said. "We wanted to let everybody who supports us know that we're the best team in the state, and we're going to represent (WVU) the best that we can."

GAME NOTES

With his shot off an inbounds pass 12:37 into the opening half of Wednesday's game, Butler past former WVU standout Lowes Moore (1977-80) for seventh place among school scoring leaders. Butler's final free throw allowed him to pass Kevin Pittsnogle (2003-06) for sixth place.

The game was also Butler's 90th career double-figure scoring game. The senior needs just three more games of 10 or more points to become the school's all-time leader in the category.

The Mountaineers will retire jersey No. 33 in school history against the Ohio State Buckeyes Saturday when it holds a ceremony honoring former guard/forward "Hot" Rod Hundley at halftime of the game. It is the only the second number is school history to be retire besides WVU's all-time leading scorer Jerry West's No. 44.

West Virginia wore its black uniforms for the second time this season. WVU is now 2-0 in the jerseys after clinching a 86-52 win over Rutgers in the uniform's debut Jan. 6.

"They're our lucky charm," Bryant said.

West Virginia claimed a three-game sweep over the Herd after West Virginia took the annual Capital Classic Cheerleading Competition, as well. It was the second consecutive year the Mountaineers have won the event.