e toward e toward | Forum

CHARLESTON, W. Aaron Ekblad Jersey .Va. -- Esa Ahmad and No. 15 West Virginia made sure there was no drop off in performance against an outmanned opponent after an emotional road win at Virginia.The Mountaineers were solid again on defense and Ahmad led another balanced scoring attack with 14 points as West Virginia stomped Western Carolina 90-37 on Wednesday night.West Virginia (7-1) didnt slow down after Saturdays close win at No. 14 Virginia. The Mountaineers forced 34 turnovers against Western Carolina, a week after setting a school record by forcing 40 against Manhattan.We couldnt come out here and lay an egg, Ahmad said.Truth is, Ahmad and West Virginia forward Elijah Macon said the Mountaineers were aiming to force 50 turnovers.Macon said that could come eventually.With this group, you never know what can happen, Macon said. We got 40. I think we can get 10 more out of that.The Mountaineers lead the nation in scoring margin (30.3), forced turnovers (25), steals per game (13) and turnover margin (14.7).West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said he didnt like his teams energy out of the gate, even though the Mountaineers scored the games first seven points and used a 16-0 run to build a 25-point lead midway through the first half.We didnt have a lot of bounce, Huggins said. I thought we were very sluggish to start with.Western Carolina (3-6) went scoreless over the final 7:39 and trailed 46-12 at halftime. By then, the Catamounts had 19 turnovers to far surpass their season average. And West Virginias pressure defense was just getting started. A 26-4 run by the Mountaineers followed early in the second half.Jevon Carter added 13 points, Macon had 11 and Teyvon Myers scored 10 for the Mountaineers, who had 21 steals.Western Carolinas Haboubacar Mutombo was limited to six points, six under his team-leading average.We didnt give them our best punch today, Western Carolina guard Elijah Pughsley said.BIG PICTUREWestern Carolina: The Catamounts simply couldnt match the onslaught of players off the bench for the Mountaineers. Western Carolina didnt help its own cause, shooting 26 percent from the field. Starting guard Devin Peterson didnt make the trip.The games really, really difficult when you cant score, Western Carolina coach Larry Hunter said. Somebodys got to put us on their back a little bit and say, `Im going to score.West Virginia: The game was an opportunity for Huggins to get his younger players some valuable playing time and to see whos ready for the start of the Big 12 schedule in three weeks. West Virginia had 13 players score and 12 who had at least 10 minutes of playing time; no one played more than 19 minutes.COACH HUGGSHuggins earned his 798th career coaching win. Hunter has 683 career wins and was inducted earlier this year into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame along with Huggins father, Charlie, who won three high school state championships as a coach.REBOUNDING HELPDespite the loss of its top two rebounders from last season, West Virginia has increased its output slightly to 40 per game this season, although its rebounding margin is down to 4.9 compared with 8.6 last season. Western Carolina managed to match West Virginia with 36 rebounds apiece.POLL IMPLICATIONSThe Mountaineers 53-point win could help them inch toward the Top 10 in the AP poll .UP NEXTWestern Carolina plays at UNC Asheville on Dec. 17. Its the final game in a seven-game road swing for the Catamounts.West Virginia plays VMI in Morgantown on Saturday. West Virginia forced 36 turnovers the last time these teams met in 2014.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25. Keith Yandle Panthers Jersey . The defending champion beat Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (6), 6-3, while second-seeded Andy Murray of Britain dispatched Edouard Roger-Vasselin, also of France, 6-3, 6-3. Making his first appearance since injuring his wrist a month ago, Del Potro had difficulty with his service games in the first set. Colton Sceviour Jersey .S. Open champion Justin Rose birdied the first hole with a blind shot he hit to a foot of the pin, and he stayed in front Tuesday until he completed a 4-under 67 for a two-shot lead over Jason Dufner in PGA Grand Slam of Golf. http:///...algin-hockey-jersey/ .B. - Sebastien Auger made 44 saves as the Saint John Sea Dogs edged the visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan 2-1 on Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. RENTON, Wash. -- The aftermath of the first NFL tie since 2014 became a study in the delicate psyche of kickers, and how they are handled by their coaches.Last Sundays 6-6 tie between Seattle and Arizona was remarkable from many aspects. One of the lasting memories were the reactions from Arizona coach Bruce Arians and Seattle coach Pete Carroll to a pair of short missed field goals in overtime that could have won the game for either team.Arizonas Chandler Catanzaro had a 24-yard field goal clang off the left upright, and minutes later Seattles Steve Hauschka pulled a 28-yard attempt wide left . Then came the reactions, and a study in how two coaches seeking the same goal took differing tones.Arians was gruff, Carroll was supportive.Arians on Catanzaro: Make it. This is professional, this aint high school, baby. You get paid to make it.Carroll on Hauschka: He made his kicks to give us a chance, and unfortunately he didnt make the last one. Hes been making kicks for years around here ... but hes gonna hit a lot of winners as we go down the road here. I love him and hes our guy.Two divergent reactions, all with the same goal of getting their kickers to be better.It means a lot to me, Hauschka said this week. Coach is incredible. He is the reason that this team is so good and why this whole atmosphere up here in Seattle is so positive. And it all starts with him. I couldnt ask for a better head coach.With such a unique role on the team, and such a specific skill in stark contrast to the rest of the roster, kickers really only have their peers who can relate to their highly visible and deeply scrutinized mistakes. How coaches handle those mistakes can be all over the spectrum.Back in 2009, then Seattle coach Jim Mora unloaded on kicker Olindo Mare immediately after he missed 34- and 43-yard field goals in a 29-25 loss to Chicago.Were not going to fight our (tails) off, and have a field goal kicker go out there and miss two field goals and lose a game. Its not going to happen, Mora said.A day later, Mora apologized for his harsh assessment.There was no such recanting from Arians. Catanzaro was already drawing the ire of his head coach before his overtime miss Sunday. A bad snap helped led to Catanzaros missed field goal that would have beaten New England in the season opener.And while Arians said he still fully supports Catanzaro, he expressed it in an acerbic way.The kicker just needs to kick it through the two poles and wed be 5-2, he said. Vincent Trocheck Jersey. Minnesotas Blair Walsh didnt watch the game Sunday night, but he sure knew how Catanzaro and Hauschka were feeling afterward. Walsh missed a 27-yard field goal last January that kept the Vikings from beating the Seahawks in the first round of the playoffs.Those are two great kickers, and theyll be fine, Walsh said. I know both of those guys will have great years, and they shouldnt worry.The fraternity of kickers is tight. Catanzaro had a similar reaction after seeing Hauschka miss.I never pull for another kicker to miss, Catanzaro said. It was tough. My reaction the other night, I wanted another shot to win it for the team because they deserved for me to put that through. But I hated to see Hauschka go out there and miss it. Hes a great kicker and hell come back from it.Being a kicker puts them in a glaring spotlight. Walsh knows that all too well after last seasons miss.From the suburban first-graders who wrote him sympathy cards the day after the game to the teammates who consoled him in the locker room, Walsh has experienced more support than backlash -- despite the predictable social media trolling from upset fans. He has some inspirational quotes hanging in his cubicle at the teams practice facility, motivation passed on by one of his high school teachers.Walsh, though, has been unable to put the gaffe out of the public discussion. He missed two field goals and an extra point in the season opener, shanked another extra point two weeks later, and missed another field goal the game after that. The Vikings won all of those games comfortably, but while they havent brought in any free agents for competition, theyve clearly lost some patience.We need to make those, or its going to bite us in the rear end, coach Mike Zimmer said after Walshs last miss on Oct. 3.Zimmers public stance on supporting Walsh has fallen somewhere between the reactions of Carroll and Arians, though tilting more toward Arians lately.Were going to need Blair down the stretch and need him to play well for us, special teams coordinator Mike Priefer said, and hopefully thats what hell do.---AP Pro Football Writer Dave Campbell and AP freelance writer Jose Romero contributed to this report.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '