West Shines in Opener

The West Virginia Mountaineers officially started their season on Friday night. Hosting Buffalo, the Mountaineers fell to the Bulls in overtime by a final score of 99-94.

Lamont West did the most he could do, as he paced the Mountaineers with 22 points. He also racked up nine rebounds, with four of them coming on the offensive end of the floor.

Over the off-season, West started catching the eyes of NBA scouts. Some mock drafts even had him going in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft, and there’s plenty of reasoning behind that. At 6’8″ and just over 220 pounds, West has the frame to be an NBA forward. He can also score, in bunches, so that helps too.

West showed off just how easily he can score on Friday night, shooting 6-16 from the field and going 7-8 from the free throw line.

West started the game off with back-to-back made three point attempts, getting fouled on the second and converting on the free throw, which brought fans to their feet.

As a junior and someone who could turn into the leader on the team, West was critical of the WVU defense especially down the stretch. “We didn’t play any defense, we’re not playing with any edge, and we’re just out there playing selfish. We just have to come together as a team.”

The Mountaineers look to bounce back from this loss next Thursday when they travel to the Myrtle Beach Invitational. They will play Monmouth in the first round of the tournament at 7:00 PM on ESPNU.