'Dogs rule Mountain State

MORGANTOWN - Much like one of Charleston's would-be mayoralcandidates, the University of Georgia does not reside in an area itcould otherwise rule.

Thus the Bulldogs, after Wednesday's 75-63 win at West VirginiaUniversity, cannot be considered the basketball kings of theMountainState. Nonetheless, Georgia, including last week's 78-73 win overvisiting Marshall, has conquered both of West Virginia's Division Iprograms.

Second-year Bulldog Coach Ron Jirsa was asked to assess the twoteams."Not to compare them, " Jirsa said in the opening qualifier."... Marshall has great guards. In the open court, they aretough. West Virginia, (forward) Marcus Goree is about as good aswe've seen. (The teams) have a little contrast. (Marshall guard)Travis Young played a great game against us. He was all we couldhandle."WVU and Marshall had something in common Wednesday.They both lost to teams they defeated in 1997-98.The only other 1998-99 foe shared by the two, who meet Jan. 27 inCharleston, will be Ohio University.- n nOne potentially enthralling matchup, that between talented, high-leaping forwards Marcus Goree from WVU and Jumaine Jones fromGeorgia, never materialized.Goree did his part, making his first 10 shots and leading allscorers with 23 points. His two one-handed dunks were the mostmemorable of the evening's 53 baskets."We put our center on Goree," Jirsa said of the game's start. "Hewas a little too quick for him. He's showing he's one of the bestforwards in this part of the country."The Bulldogs' leading scorer entering the contest, Jones struggledfor the second consecutive season against WVU. He made 4-of-15 fromthe field in last December's 86-81 WVU win at Atlanta's GeorgiaDome.In the Coliseum, Jones hit just 1-of-12 shots, that a dunk with5:20 left. He finished with nine points and six rebounds in 36minutes. For the second straight season, Goree blocked a near-basketJones attempt."I just wasn't able to hit shots," said the 6-foot-7, 215-poundJones, a third-team All-Southeastern Conference selection lastseason."He's giving up a lot of size at power forward," Jirsa said.Georgia instead was led by less-heralded forward Michael Chadwick,who scored a season-high 20 points with 10 rebounds.One thing in WVU's favor was unfamiliarity. Bulldog point guardG.G. Smith said he recognized a face from last season's game."I only knew big Goree," Smith said.- n nThe game ended a two-game series between unlikely foes. Bothgames were entertaining. Last season, WVU held a 17-pointsecond-half lead, was tied, then, with the help of 25 Georgiaturnovers, recovered to win."I like the series," Smith said.What Smith missed was playing before a full Coliseum."I thought the fans would be more rowdy," said Smith, who guidedan offense that committed just two second-half turnovers.Few in the Big East want to enter a Coliseum as rambunctious asthe one that confronted Connecticut last February.The visit was the first to Morgantown by an SEC team since Georgialost in a first-round NIT game in 1993.- n nDribbles and other drivel:- WVU Coach Gale Catlett and several of his players refused to usethis week's lengthy trip back from the Big Island Invitational inHawaii as an excuse for losing."I don't think fatigue had anything to do with it," Mountaineerforward Elton Scott said.- The loss ended a win streak of 19 in non-conference home gamesfor WVU. The last defeat was 83-73 to Virginia Tech in 1994-95. TheMountaineers dropped a third-round NIT game to Florida State at theColiseum to end the 1996-97 season.Writer Mike Cherry can be reached at 348-5170.