Box Score MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia used 21 points and 10 rebounds from fabulous freshman
Oscar Tshiebwe to roll over Boston University 69-44 in a Cancun Challenge game played tonight at the WVU Coliseum.
Tshiebwe eclipsed the season-high 20 points he scored during last Friday night's Backyard Brawl victory in Pittsburgh. The Democratic Republic of the Congo native made his first seven shots and finished the game hitting 10-of-13 field goals.
"A lot of ways he was their best player in the first half and then was our best player in the second half," West Virginia coach
Bob Huggins said. "He's got such great strength in his hands."
The Terriers (3-3) back-door cut South Carolina to death earlier this week in a Cancun Challenge game in Columbia, South Carolina, but tonight it didn't get much near the basket against West Virginia's massive front line.
Derek Culver contributed 10 points and four rebounds as West Virginia outscored BU 48-22 in the paint. WVU scored 25 points off 22 Terrier turnovers and grabbed 25 offensive rebounds.
Six-seven guard
Jermaine Haley added 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
West Virginia scored the first 11 points of the game and had a 17-point lead at the 10-minute mark of the first half before Huggins began substituting players. A couple of scoring droughts allowed Boston to cut WVU's lead to nine, 23-14, on a Jonas Harper 3.
Freshman
Miles McBride answered with a 3 at the other end, one of just two made 3s on 18 attempts for the game. Huggins said after the game all of the players who struggled shooting the ball tonight have also struggled shooting it in practice.
The Mountaineers led 36-23 at halftime and an 8-0 run to begin the second half turned the game into a rout.
WVU's biggest lead was 28 points.
West Virginia (4-0) shot 44.3 percent (27 of 61) and 61.9 percent from the free throw line (13 of 21).
"It could be scary if we can make any shots," Huggins said.
Boston University, which defeated South Carolina 78-70 on Tuesday night, shot just 32.7 percent overall for the game with six of its 17 field goals coming from 3-point distance.
Sophomore forward Walter Whyte led the Terriers with 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting.
The two teams have now played three times but tonight's game was BU's first-ever appearance in the Coliseum.
The two teams will now fly to Riveira Maya, Mexico to continue play in the Cancun Challenge. West Virginia will face undefeated Northern Iowa on Monday night in a 7 p.m. game that will be televised on CBS Sports Network. The Panthers are coming off an 88-66 victory over Cornell Wednesday night to improve to 6-0.
"We've got a lot to work on," Huggins said. "This is a business trip. The hard thing will be all of the young guys making sure they understand it's a business trip.
The Mountaineers will take on either South Carolina or Wichita State in the concluding game on Wednesday night. That contest will also be televised on CBS Sports Network.
BU will play Northern Colorado on Tuesday afternoon and either Gardner Webb or UT-Martin or Wednesday.