Unlikely Heroes Lead WVU Basketball to Win Over NC Central

MORGANTOWN — Life without Tucker DeVries is hard, maybe even harder than WVU basketball thought it would be.

It was announced the Mountaineers’ star senior would be out “indefinitely” just hours before the team tipped off against North Carolina Central on Tuesday night. Although it wasn’t always smooth sailing, WVU was able to coast to a comfortable 79-45 victory inside the WVU Coliseum.

Center Eduardo Andre replaced DeVries in the starting lineup, playing alongside fellow forward Amani Hansberry for the first time this season. The two-forward lineup didn’t last long, however, as the Mountaineers struggled on offense and scored just three points in the first five minutes of play.

After inserting Jonathon Powell and KJ Tenner to go back to its normal four-guard configuration, WVU started clicking and used a 7-0 scoring run to create some separation.

West Virginia built its lead up to 23-8 with less than 10 minutes to play but then hit another cold spell, not scoring for the next five minutes. NCCU went on a 7-0 during that time to cut the lead to 23-15.

The Mountaineers’ spark came from an unlikely source as Joseph Yesufu, who had not played in three of the team’s last four games, hit back-to-back three-pointers with one second on the shot clock. Javon Small made a layup before Yesufu hit a jumper and another trey as WVU closed the half on a 13-3 run with 11 points coming from Yesufu.

WVU’s offense continued to struggle after halftime as help came from yet another unlikely source. Freshman Jonathon Powell had scored just eight points in his last four games after scoring double-digit points in each of the first four games.

Powell was key for the Mountaineers after halftime, scoring a team-high 11 second-half points to finish with 17 overall.

A four-point play by Powell keyed a 7-0 scoring run that boosted WVU’s lead to 27 points, 63-36.

NC Central never put together a run to threaten WVU’s lead as the Mountaineers coasted to the 34-point victory.

Powell led the Mountaineers with 17 points, backed up by Yesufuf’s 14. Small finished with 12 points while fighting foul trouble in the second half.

Hansberry pulled down 12 rebounds to go with seven points while Andre had eight boards.

Isaac Parson paced NCCU with 16 points.

WVU basketball stays home for its penultimate non-conference game of the season on Saturday against Bethune-Cookman. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.