Wednesday, November 15
Morgantown, W.Va.
7:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
1-1
98
vs
64
American
0-2
1
2
F
American
33
31
64
West Virginia
44
54
98
Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Strong Second Half Leads to Blowout Victory
November 15, 2017 09:54 PM | Men's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Twenty-fourth ranked West Virginia used a 15-0 run to begin the second half in rolling to a 98-64 victory over American here at the WVU Coliseum tonight.
"It's a work in progress," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said afterward. Huggins earned his 820th career victory tonight and his 230th as WVU's head coach.
"We've got the pieces, we've just got to get them put together," Huggins said.
Senior guard Jevon Carter scored 20 points, made nine steals, handed out seven assists and pulled down seven rebounds in an outstanding all-around performance.
Carter moved past Devin Williams and Mike Boyd into 33rd place in school history in career scoring with 1,151 points. He is six points shy of moving past Jim McCormick into 33nd position.
"I thought JC was terrific in the second half, but I didn't think he was very good in the first half," Huggins said.
West Virginia (1-1) got off to a slow start, the Mountaineers shooting less than 40 percent as they plodded through most of the first half. It was a two-possession affair until Carter's two free throws with 3:19 to go gave WVU an eight-point lead, 34-26.
A Lamont West free throw made it a 10-point game, 36-26, and then freshman forward Teddy Allen got it to 12 on a 3 from the wing following a James Bolden steal..
The Mountaineers' largest lead was 35, 93-58, with 2:36 remaining.
"We go too fast and we get people with the ball in positions where they really shouldn't have the ball," Huggins said. "And then we don't get the ball to guys in a position where they ought to have it. But we did a better job of that in the second half."
Daxter Miles Jr. added 20, Bolden came off the bench to score 16, Allen had 14 and Lamont West contributed 12, 10 of those coming from the free throw line.
West Virginia shot 64.5 percent in the second half, 50.8 percent overall, and took 24 fewer 3-point attempts than it tried during last Friday's 23-point loss to 16th-ranked Texas A&M in Germany.
Sophomore Sagaba Konate, a starter last Friday, was suited up for tonight's game but did not play.
"Sags has got to get with us," Huggins said. "He's got to be on the same page with us - and he will be because he's a great kid. The transition from being the star to being a piece … It's not easy and it's not handed to you. You've got to put the work in."
Huggins said he plans on having Konate for West Virginia's next game against Morgan State on Saturday night.
In place of Konate, Huggins started sophomore Maciej Bender at center paired with West and Wesley Harris at forward, with seniors Carter and Miles in the backcourt.
Huggins replaced Harris with Bolden to begin the second half. Nine different players had double-figure minutes, led by Carter's 33.
Sa'eed Nelson led the Eagles with 17; Larry Motuzis scored 15.
American lost its season opener at Kansas State last Saturday night, 83-45.
Prior to the game, West Virginia added its 2017 NCAA Tournament "Sweet 16" banner to the Coliseum rafters.
The Mountaineers have a quick turnaround with a Saturday night game at the Coliseum that will tip off at 7:30 p.m. following football's noon game against Texas.
It will be televised locally on Nexstar and will also be lived streamed on WVUsports.com.
"It's a work in progress," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said afterward. Huggins earned his 820th career victory tonight and his 230th as WVU's head coach.
"We've got the pieces, we've just got to get them put together," Huggins said.
Senior guard Jevon Carter scored 20 points, made nine steals, handed out seven assists and pulled down seven rebounds in an outstanding all-around performance.
Carter moved past Devin Williams and Mike Boyd into 33rd place in school history in career scoring with 1,151 points. He is six points shy of moving past Jim McCormick into 33nd position.
"I thought JC was terrific in the second half, but I didn't think he was very good in the first half," Huggins said.
West Virginia (1-1) got off to a slow start, the Mountaineers shooting less than 40 percent as they plodded through most of the first half. It was a two-possession affair until Carter's two free throws with 3:19 to go gave WVU an eight-point lead, 34-26.
A Lamont West free throw made it a 10-point game, 36-26, and then freshman forward Teddy Allen got it to 12 on a 3 from the wing following a James Bolden steal..
The Mountaineers' largest lead was 35, 93-58, with 2:36 remaining.
"We go too fast and we get people with the ball in positions where they really shouldn't have the ball," Huggins said. "And then we don't get the ball to guys in a position where they ought to have it. But we did a better job of that in the second half."
Daxter Miles Jr. added 20, Bolden came off the bench to score 16, Allen had 14 and Lamont West contributed 12, 10 of those coming from the free throw line.
West Virginia shot 64.5 percent in the second half, 50.8 percent overall, and took 24 fewer 3-point attempts than it tried during last Friday's 23-point loss to 16th-ranked Texas A&M in Germany.
Sophomore Sagaba Konate, a starter last Friday, was suited up for tonight's game but did not play.
"Sags has got to get with us," Huggins said. "He's got to be on the same page with us - and he will be because he's a great kid. The transition from being the star to being a piece … It's not easy and it's not handed to you. You've got to put the work in."
Huggins said he plans on having Konate for West Virginia's next game against Morgan State on Saturday night.
In place of Konate, Huggins started sophomore Maciej Bender at center paired with West and Wesley Harris at forward, with seniors Carter and Miles in the backcourt.
Huggins replaced Harris with Bolden to begin the second half. Nine different players had double-figure minutes, led by Carter's 33.
Sa'eed Nelson led the Eagles with 17; Larry Motuzis scored 15.
American lost its season opener at Kansas State last Saturday night, 83-45.
Prior to the game, West Virginia added its 2017 NCAA Tournament "Sweet 16" banner to the Coliseum rafters.
The Mountaineers have a quick turnaround with a Saturday night game at the Coliseum that will tip off at 7:30 p.m. following football's noon game against Texas.
It will be televised locally on Nexstar and will also be lived streamed on WVUsports.com.
Team Stats
AMERICAN
WVU
FG%
.457
.508
3FG%
.360
.313
FT%
.650
.744
RB
26
39
TO
22
7
STL
3
14
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballTV Highlights: WVU 69, Lehigh 47
Monday, November 10
Ross Hodge | Lehigh Postgame
Sunday, November 09
Brenen Lorient & Harlan Obioha | Lehigh Postgame
Sunday, November 09
TV Highlights: WVU 73, Campbell 65
Friday, November 07
