MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia used 27 factors, six rebounds and 6 assists from senior guard Javon Small to defeat Bethune-Cookman 84-61 Saturday evening on the WVU Coliseum.
It was Small’s second-highest scoring effort of the season and the the fifth time he is topped 20 factors this yr. He has reached double figures in all 10 video games as properly.
The Mountaineers had a balanced scoring assault with 4 gamers reaching double figures. Amani Hansberry tallied 16, Jonathan Powell contributed 14 and Sencire Harris added a season-high 12.
West Virginia, which led by as many as 20 factors within the first half, noticed its lead trimmed to 6 4 minutes into the second half. However the Mountaineers scored seven in a row to push it again to 13 and stored the margin above double digits for the rest of the sport.
“We had been in a position to construct up a reasonably good lead within the first half after which there was a protracted stretch from that time on till late within the second half after we could not fairly discover our rhythm,” West Virginia coach Darian DeVries mentioned.
WVU did not seize its first offensive rebound till Hansberry hauled down a Harris missed with 14:34 left within the second half and was out-boarded by the Wildcats, 39 to 35.
The Mountaineers (8-2) made 17 free throws in a row till Hansberry missed his second try with 3:28 left.
West Virginia completed the sport connecting on 20 of twenty-two from the charity stripe.
After taking pictures 51.7% within the first half, the Mountaineers cooled off after intermission and ended the sport making 27 of 58 discipline objective makes an attempt for 46.6%.
WVU was outscored 32 to 30 within the paint and 13 to 9 off turnovers.
“We fouled a little bit an excessive amount of and the sport received a little bit uneven as a result of there was lots of free throws and there was no circulation to it and it was onerous for us to get going,” DeVries mentioned. “We have to play with extra self-discipline and hold our palms again.”
West Virginia did convert 10 of its 26 makes an attempt from 3-point distance, Powell main the best way with 4. Small made two and one every got here from Hansberry, Toby Okani, Joseph Yesufu and Jake Auer.
It was the second recreation with out second-leading scorer Tucker DeVries, who’s nursing an undisclosed higher physique harm. Powell received his first profession begin tonight rather than DeVries.
“I believed the final 5 minutes we actually dug in defensively, the speak was a little bit higher and we received some transition baskets to essentially lengthen it and really feel extra comfy,” DeVries mentioned.
Brayon Freeman led Bethune-Cookman with 14 factors.
The Wildcats dropped to 2-8 with the loss.
An introduced crowd of 9,651 attended tonight’s recreation.
West Virginia concludes its four-game homestand on Sunday, Dec. 22, towards Mercyhurst. Following the Christmas break, WVU will start Huge 12 play at 10th-ranked Kansas on Tuesday, Dec. 31.
