“The students were great tonight. Honestly, that’s the way it should be. One of the reasons I was so excited to play hard was because we had a great crowd. I just love to hit a great shot and have people yell and cheer for me and my teammates. That’s the thing that got me and everyone else going tonight.” — Da’Sean Butler only minutes after scoring 43 points against Villanova.

Sixty-five seconds remained Friday night in a game WVU clinched a while earlier and Bob Huggins took a few steps onto the court and pointed to the student section. It wasn’t the first time he’d targeted them recently, but this was different. He got their attention, then clapped, as if to say, “Thanks, let’s do this again real soon.”

It was one of those special and far too infrequent electric evenings inside the Coliseum. A 9 p.m. tip on a Friday night for a national audience provided the proper mix for a effectively hostile environment. What ended with students rushing the court — sorry, still not sure about that — began with a perfect blend of circumstances.

It’s nearly tip-off and the damn-near packed student section begins with “(Screw) you, Nova” chants. “Final Countdown” blares, the historic intro plays on the video board and Beth Lefebvre nails the national anthem. There’s a buzz and the place is piqued when Kevin Rudolf’s “Let it Rock” plays over a highlight package and transitions into the tip.

Just 32 seconds  in, Nova’s top scorer, Dante Cunningham, gets an offensive foul. Wellington Smith wisely drives on Cunningham and makes a layup and Cunningham follows with two missed free throws. At that moment, the crowd was hooked.

Curious how Butler would respond, the fans winced when his missed his first shot on the team’s sixth possession, groaned when he picked up a charge 3:51 in and then cheered when he made two free throws at the 13:14 mark.

By then, four passes on a fast break led to an Alex Ruoff 3-pointer, Cunningham went to the bench with two fouls and Kevin Jones knocked down a 10-foot jumper and officially reached the level where the crowd cheers before he even shoots. When Butler made a 3 for a 14-4 lead and assistant Billy Hahn waved his arms and begged for noise, the note I wrote was “Uh-oh.” It’s going to be hard to beat WVU at home when things line up like that.

Really, John Flowers made a sharp backcut to the basket, but bobbled Ruoff’s pass. That allowed the defense to collapse, which left Butler open. Flowers complied and Butler made a 3. On the next trip, Smith passed to a cutting Butler, the defense had no idea what to do, Butler hit a layup for a 24-11 lead, Nova called timeout and I was worried Hahn might fly away. Then came the train whistle and the horrific “Cotton-Eyed Joe,” which, I must report, lit the crowd on fire and carried the energy throughout the timeout.

The best possession of the game followed. Ruoff missed a 3, Jones missed a putback and Butler, Ruoff and Butler missed 3s. WVU was 0-for-5, but was met with an ovation. The Mountaineers forced a turnover, Butler nailed a 3 and the game was over. No, really. I got a text from a friend and it read: “This game’s over.” Everyone knew it. A bewildered Jay Wright unbuttoned and buttoned his suit more in the first 12 minutes than he would in 12 days.

WVU would go into the under-four media timeout a little later to a standing ovation and the event staff nearly caused a seizure for the 12,513 in attendance. First was the pep band’s hair-raising “House of the Rising Sun,” then a T-shirt toss, then an oh-by-the-way acknowledgment of Joe Alexander in the front row, then the WVU Fight Song, then a “Happy Gilmore” clip requesting more noise and then “Shout.” It was hard enough to write that all down,  let alone experience it.

The final 28 minutes were the rollicking celebration of WVU basketball that had been missing and requested. A smart crowd applauded little things like Truck Bryant backing off on a fast break, begged for calls, cheered the ones that were made, hissed at the ones that were not and anticipated extra passes to set up open shots and emphatic dunks.

The building had not been as loud this season as it was when the Ruoff-to-Butler-to-Flowers combo led to an easy dunk, a jumping and fist-pumping Butler and a 40-24 lead.

The second half began with “Welcome to the Jungle,” which was appropriate, certainly more so than “Sweet Home Alabama” as Jones was on his back after getting bloodied under the basket. When he left the floor, though, he did so to “Kevin Jones” chants.

The crowd participation continued through every timeout and every occasion. Reggie Redding fouled out and was serenaded with “Hit the Road, Jack.” Scottie Reynolds left a while later and  heard “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.“

Butler’s countdown to 40 was the story of the second half. Every free throw or basket produced a louder cheer right until he beat the shot clock with a 3 and his 38th, 39th and 40th points. Wright called a timeout and the euphoric crowd sang “We Will Rock You.”

For a night, it had.