Brenen Lorient Scores Career-High in WVU Basketball Win Over Lehigh

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – WVU basketball senior forward Brenen Lorient scored a career-high 26 points to lead WVU past Lehigh, 69-47  Sunday at the Hope Coliseum.

WVU sent out the same starters as the two prior games – senior guard Jasper Floyd, Huff, senior guard Treysen Eaglestaff, Lorient and senior center Harlan Obioha

Obioha started the game by winning the tip and delivering on the offensive end with an inside score.

Lehigh tied it with a shot from junior guard Joshua Ingram, but WVU went on a quick 11-0 run featuring seven points from Brenen Lorient.

Right after the 16-minute media timeout, Huff cashed in from three to increase WVU’s lead to 16-2. Lehigh sophomore forward Hank Alvey made a three-pointer to end the run.

WVU scored another six unanswered with a layup from Obioha and two mid-range jumpers from Floyd.

Lehigh made another attempt at stopping the bleeding with a layup from junior guard Jalen Vasquez. However, WVU surged for a 10-0 run which included Lorient’s second three-point shot of the game, making the score 32-7 with 6:41 remaining in the first half.

The Mountain Hawks managed to get the lid off the basket, going 3-for-5 from three-point range int he final five minutes of the first half. WVU still took a big lead to halftime was 42-20.

Lehigh saw a quick start to the second half with a three from Ingram.

The Mountaineers had a chance for four points with both a technical and shooting foul against junior guard Nasir Whitlock. However, Huff missed both free throws for the technical and freshman guard Amir Jenkins went 1-2 for the shooting foul. WVU led with 49-21 with 16 minutes remaining.

With the score at 52-33, Obioha and Lehigh sophomore forward Eduoard Benoit got tied up after an and-one score from freshman forward DJ Thomas. Both players received a technical foul for the altercation.

A nearly-three-minute scoring drought followed as neither team scored for the next 2:55. Huff broke the scoring silence with two free throws for a 54-33 lead.

Lorient helped kick-start the WVU offense with a dunk and then his third three-pointer of the game with four minutes remaining. It marked his first career game with three made three-pointers, bringing his total to 26 points.

The Mountaineers cruised the rest of the way, improving to 3-0.

WVU basketball will take the court again at 6 p.m. Thursday when it hosts Pitt for the Backyard Brawl at the Hope Coliseum.

Find more coverage of WVU basketball at WV Sports Now.