WVU Basketball Struggles on Offense in Loss to No. 7 Houston

WVU basketball scored just five points in the first 15 minutes and 30 seconds of play Tuesday, falling to No. 7 Houston 77-48 at the Fertitta Center.

Houston scored the game’s first five points before freshman forward DJ Thomas dunked off a backdoor cut for WVU’s first points at 17:53.

The Cougars rattled off a 10-0 run before WVU scored again with a three-pointer by senior guard Honor Huff to make it 15-5.

Houston followed with thirteen unanswered points, featuring three straight three-pointers all by different players. WVU finally answered after being scoreless for 7:41, with back-to-back threes from senior guard Treysen Eaglestaff and Thomas, cutting the lead to 28-11 going into the four-minute media timeout.

Thomas struck again out of the timeout, but redshirt freshman forward Chase McCarty extended the lead once again for Houston with a three.

Eaglestaff added a point after going 1-2 from the free throw line before Thomas made his third three-pointer, making the score 33-18 at halftime. Thomas led all scorers with 11 points.

Houston scored the first five points of the half before senior forward Bremen Lorient hit a three-pointer, making it 38-21. the shot kicked off a 9-0 run for WVU which was ended by a three-pointer by senior guard Emanuel Sharp.

WVU had another five-point swing with a three from Thomas and a layup from Huff before the floodgates opened from Houston, as the Cougars went on a 19-2 run. It included a 17-0 stretch where WVU was scoreless for 4:59.

The Mountaineers made another late push with a 7-o run which included a circus layup from freshman guard Amir Jenkins, but their efforts fell short as Houston came out on top 77-48.

WVU was outscored 44-30 in the second half. Thomas finished with 16 points.

WVU basketball will play again at 6 p.m. Saturday when the Mountaineers host Colorado.

Find more coverage of WVU basketball and at WV Sports Now.