WVU Basketball Overcomes Slow Start in Win Over MVSU

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – WVU Basketball pulled away after a slow offensive start Monday, finishing the non-conference schedule with an 86-51 win over Mississippi Valley State.

Senior guard Honor Huff did what he does best to start the game, making a contested three-pointer to open scoring.

Senior center Harlan Obioha made his presence known int he front court early, tallying two points and two boards in his first trip out, one being on offense and resulting in two points for senior forward Brenen Lorient.

The Delta Devils added its first field goal at the 14:17 mark, but soon went on a 6-0 run to cut the WVU lead to 11-10. This came in the midst of a 4:58 field goal drought for WVU in which it only scored two points off free throws.

WVU responded, however with a 12-2 run featuring five points from freshman forward DJ Thomas and four from senior guard Jasper Floyd.

The Mountaineers came alive in the second 10 minutes of the first half, scoring 27 points. Freshman guard Amir Jenkins led all scorers in the first half with 10 points. Thomas followed with nine.

Obioha opened the second half scoring for WVU with an and-one layup and converted the free throw. He added another two on the next possession and was followed by an Eaglestaff three-pointer.

WVU kept piling it on, taking a 13-2 run and a score of 55-24 to the first media timeout of the second half.

Huff connected again from deep and drew a foul before converting the free throw for a four-point play and 61-28 score at the 13:45 mark.

Eaglestaff went on a hot streak, scoring nine of WVU’s 11 points over a four-minute stretch in the second half leading to the eight-minute media timeout.

It was smooth sailing the rest of the way for WVU, as Eaglestaff tallied 23 points for an 86-51 win.

WVU basketball will take the court again in its Big 12 opener at 7 p.m. Jan. 2  when it plays Iowa State at Hilton Coliseum.

Find more coverage of WVU basketball at WV Sports Now.