A&M responded with Christian Kirk

Showing grit and no-retreat toughness, No. 15 West Virginia made a statement Saturday by snapping Virginias 24-game home win streak.Now the Mountaineers (6-1) hope to maintain that edge against Western Carolina (3-5) during a Wednesday night follow-up. The game is being staged three hours south of West Virginias campus at the Charleston (W.Va.) Civic Center.Fans expectations are energized by the 66-57 upset at Virginia in which Bob Huggins team used an 11-2 closing run.It got to be a playground type of game, Huggins said. It was kind of two teams from different neighborhoods. It got a little chippy, got a little physical, got a little talking going on. I think our guys respond to that.Leading the nation in average margin of victory (plus-30.3 points), forced turnovers (25.4 per game) and steals (13.1 per game), West Virginia could pad those stats as it begins a five-game stretch against mid-majors with a combined record of 18-25.Huggins wants his team to use the next three weeks of nonconference play to improve execution in the half-court offense. He even altered shooting drills to get players more passing repetitions.We have the greatest managers in the world, and theyre better passers than our guys, Huggins said. So I told (assistant coach) Erik Martin, Heres an idea: Why dont you let our guys pass to our guys instead of the managers passing to our guys.One player already adept at passing, 6-foot-9 senior Nathan Adrian stands among the national leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio and paces the Mountaineers at 13 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. After missing all four 3-point tries at Virginia, the forwards long-distant shooting dipped to 26 percent, though he contributed in other facets.Nate shot the ball poorly, but he still made plays, Huggins said. We ran offense through him, he did a great job defensively, he kept balls alive, rebounded the ball. He still did things to win the game.Forward Esa Ahmad (12.6 points, 4.9 rebounds per game) and point guard Jevon Carter (9.2 points, 3.0 steals per game) are important cogs in a deep rotation in which 12 players average four points or more.While the Mountaineers score more than 90 points per game, Western Carolina averages just 56.2 as it nears the finish of a seven-game road swing. The Catamounts have already visited Miami (Fla.), Marquette and Ohio State.As a young basketball player, Id watch games on TV that were played in these places, Western Carolina freshman Jason McMillan said. Its a dream come true to go into those arenas, lace up, put on a jersey and play. Its a whole other level.Along with the financial boost provided by such cash games, Catamounts coach Larry Hunter uses them as teaching tools before Southern Conference action.When you play teams like Ohio State and Marquette, your weaknesses are identified much more readily, he said.Junior guard Haboubacar Mutombo leads Western Carolina in scoring (12 points per game) and rebounding (7.1 boards per game). Sophomore forward Marc Gosselin is contributing 8.6 points and 6.1 rebounds a game.The Catamounts are coming off a 58-53 win over Appalachian State on Saturday. Mutombo scored a team-high 13 points. Custom NCAA Jerseys Outlet . However, he did make them miss him a little less. Cundiff, who had the unenviable job of replacing Dawson last season, agreed Thursday to a one-year, $1. Custom NCAA Shirts From China . -- Al Jefferson found a groove just in time for the Charlotte Bobcats. http://www.customjerseysncaa.com/ . Kiriasis and brakeman Franziska Fritz finished two runs in one minute 55.41 seconds -- a mere 0.01 seconds ahead of Meyers and Lolo Jones, who likely bolstered her Olympic hopes by helping give USA-1 a huge push in the second heat. Discount Custom College Jerseys . Ashley Youngs cross was inadvertently headed by Chester into his own net in the 66th minute, allowing United to claim a third straight league win. "We had to dig deep with our fighting spirit and weve done that," United striker Wayne Rooney said. Wholesale Custom College Jerseys . -- Three close looks at the bucket, three misses. STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Nick Fitzgerald ran for 182 yards and two touchdowns, Aeris Williams ran for a career-high 140 yards and Mississippi State used a dominant ground game to upset No. 4 Texas A&M 35-28 on Saturday.It was a stunning win for Mississippi State (4-5, 2/3 Southeastern Conference), which was coming off an uninspiring 56-41 win over lower-level Samford. The Bulldogs had lost their previous three games against FBS competition.It was an equally stunning loss for Texas A&M.?We got whipped, Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin said. We couldnt stop the run and we couldnt run it. They dictated play today.Mississippi State finished with 365 yards rushing. The Bulldogs biggest drive was a grinding 14-play, 73-yard push in the fourth quarter that ended with Fitzgerald running for a 4-yard touchdown for a 35-21 lead. Mississippi State ran 10 straight running plays at one point in the drive.The offensive line played fantastic today, Fitzgerald said. I couldnt have asked for anything more from them. Our running backs were running extremely hard, reading the blocks. We knew we could run the ball.Fitzgerald was 18 of 31 passing for 209 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.Theyre young guys who are starting to get it, Mullen said.Texas A&M (7-2, 4-2) not only lost the game, but possibly its starting quarterback. Trevor Knight was knocked out of the game in the second quarter with an apparent right shoulder injury and didnt returrn.dddddddddddd.Knight wasnt very effective when he was playing, completing just 5 of 14 passes for 43 yards. He also ran for 54 yards and a touchdown.Mississippi State took a 28-7 lead late in the second quarter after Fitzgeralds 7-yard touchdown pass to Fred Ross, but Texas A&M responded with Christian Kirks 93-yard punt return for a touchdown to pull within 28-14 by halftime.Knights backup Jake Hubenak threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to Kirk early in the fourth quarter to pull Texas A&M within 28-21. Hubenak added a 4-yard touchdown pass to Josh Reynolds with 1:33 left, but the Aggies couldnt get enough momentum to overtake Mississippi State.Hubenak completed 11 of 17 passes for 222 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in the games final seconds.POLL IMPLICATIONSTexas A&M will likely be punished in all three major polls following a loss to one of the SECs worst teams so far this season.THE TAKEAWAYTexas A&M: The Aggies didnt perform well under pressure after being the surprise No. 4 team in the first CFP rankings .Mississippi State: The Bulldogs earn a rejuvenating win against the Aggies after a rough October that included losses to BYU, Auburn and Kentucky.UP NEXTTexas A&M: The Aggies return home and will host Mississippi.Mississippi State: The Bulldogs travel to face Alabama on Saturday. ' ' '