Clutch Eaglestaff 3 Helps WVU Basketball Top Cincinnati

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – WVU basketball survived a home contest against Cincinnati after senior guard Treysen Eaglestaff made a turnaround three with under two minutes remaining for a 62-60 win.

Senior forward Treysen Eaglestaff opened scoring with five straight points after a three-pointer and a mid-range jumper. Junior guard and former Mountaineer Sincere Harris got Cincinnati on the board with a transition layup.

The Bearcats cut the WVU lead to 7-6, but senior guard Honor Huff made a step-back three from the right wing to get the Mountaineers to double-digits. He drilled a contested corner three at the 14:07 mark as well to make the score 13-6.

WVU’s lead swelled to 19-9 before a 13-3 run by the Bearcats made it just 22-19 with 7:22 left in the first half. Huff broke the run with his third three-pointer.

A five-point swig for UC cut WVU’s lead to one at 25-24. Freshman guard Amir Jenkins made a three-pointer after leaving the game with an injury and rejoining the team.

The Mountaineers took a 31-28 lead to halftime as Huff led all scorers with 16 points on 4-6 shooting from three.

Cincinnati knotted the game at 31 with a three from Day Day Thomas before he made another for the Bearcats’ first lead of the game. Huff made the equalizer shortly after, tying the game at 34 points.

Freshman forward DJ Thomas gave WVU the lead again as WVU built a 10-2 scoring run. The run ended when graduate student guard Jalen Celestine made a deep three as the shot clock expired at 14:50.

Cincinnati battled back and tied the game at 45-45 with a three-point shot from freshman guard Keyshawn Tillery at 11:17. Fifth-year guard Chance Moore then took over for WVU, outscoring UC 9-4 on his own over the next three minutes.

WVU’s lead was short-lived, as the Bearcats drilled three straight three-pointers on consecutive possessions. The Mountaineers remained scoreless for over four minutes of game time as Cincinnati grew its lead to 57-52.

Huff brought the crowd to its feet with an and-one three-pointer, but missed the free throw.

Eaglestaff played hero on the next possession, drilling a turnaround three-pointer from the right wing as the shot clock expired to give WVU a 58-57 lead with 1:12 remaining.

After a defensive stop from WVU, Huff made two free throws to make it a three-point game. Eaglestaff was fouled next, making two free throws to secure the win for WVU.

Huff led all scorers with 24 points as Moore had 14 and Eaglestaff added 10.

WVU basketball will play again at noon on Jan. 10 at the Hope Coliseum when the Mountaineers host the No. 22 Kansas Jayhawks.

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