MORGANTOWN, W. Va – With 12:09 to play in the second half, West Virginia’s Tre Mitchell got a steal and finished it with a left-handed slam on the other end.
On the very next Morehead State possession, West Virginia’s Kedrian Johnson would follow in Mitchell’s footsteps. Johnson had a steal and a fast break opportunity, but would miss the dunk. Johnson would get his own rebound, and found Erik Stevenson who knocked down a wide-open three-pointer, putting West Virginia ahead 56-35, with the Mountaineers ultimately coasting to a 75-57 victory over Morehead State on Tuesday night.
“He didnt play for two-and-a-half, three months,” Huggins said of Mitchell. “As he continues to get in shape, I think he will continue to get better and better. I think you can see why we were excited about getting him.”
West Virginia’s offense started out slow. The Mountaineers struggled to score early, turning the ball over on five of their first seven possessions. Tre Mitchell helped guide West Virginia to an offensive surge over the final 11:17 of the first half.
Mitchell, who is still working back from leg injury which kept him sidelined for the majority of the fall, was inserted into the starting lineup for the first time in West Virginia’s first three games. Mitchell would score five early points, beating a double team on consecutive possessions, with the first leading to a dunk, and the second Mitchell floating in.
That was almost all of the offense West Virginia could put together early, with Morehead State leading 12-9. Mitchell would again face a double team in the paint, but would find Joe Toussaint for a three-pointer to tie the game at 12-12. Mitchell and the Mountaineers would command the remainder of the first half, out-scoring Morehead State 28-16 over the final 11:17.
In that stretch, Mitchell would score 10 of his 15 first-half points, including a layup to end the half, with the Mountaineers going into the break with a 37-28 lead.
In the second half, West Virginia would not let up on the Eagles.
The Mountaineers led 47-35 early, but would use a 12-0 run, highlighted by the Mitchell dunk and Stevenson three-pointer to coast to the victory.
The Mountaineers relied heavily on Jimmy Bell and Mohamed Wague in the second half, with the pair combining for 12 points and six rebounds in the second half.
Mitchell would lead all Mountaineer scorers with 21 points, while Bell and Wague were the only other Mountaineers to score at least 10 points. West Virginia shot 46.8% from the field, but missed 13 three-pointers (23.5%).
“I’ve been feeling a little bit more comfortable,” Bell said. “Today I had good night, so I’m just working every day.”
Huggins said Wague’s athletic ability initially impressed him. Now, Wague has turned into a force through West Virginia’s first three games.
“I was amazed with his agility initially,” Huggins said. “He’s our best finished, far and away our best finisher around the goal.”
Morehead State’s Alex Gross led them with 12 points, while also leading the Eagles with six rebounds.
First Action This Season
JUCO transfer Pat Suemnick saw his first game action of the season, making a layup with 4:18 to play, which put West Virginia in front by 25. Suemnick had been dealing with an injury all of fall In addition, freshman Josiah Davis, and sophomore Jamel King were also inserted into the game for the first time through West Virginia’s first three games.
“Unfortunately Pat got hurt and he’s got some catching up to do,” Huggins said.
Davis and King would both get in the game for the final minutes, with neither being able to score their first points of the year.
“A lot of bad basketball is what I saw,” Huggins said of playing some younger guys. “I think everybody took turns missing a layup.”
Turnovers
West Virginia turned the ball over 10 times, with eight of those coming in the first half, and five coming in the first five minutes of play. West Virginia also forced 20 turnovers leading to 32 points.
“We’ve been careless with [the ball] pretty much all year,” Huggins said. “Something we’re going to have to work harder on, particularly where we’re headed in the next few weeks.”
Bigger Picture
Morehead State was picked as the Ohio Valley Conference’s preseason favorite and West Virginia beating them by 18 points is good sign of things to come. The Mountaineers have one game remaining before their Thanksgiving trip to Oregon, where they could face some of the top teams in the country.
“I have a lot of respect for this team,” Huggins said. “Watching film of them, they’re very, very well-coached. They played hard as can be.”
Photo by Aaron Parker, Blue Gold Sports
