MORGANTOWN, W. Va — With 12:55 to play in the second half, Navy had cut the West Virginia lead to six after a Sean Yoder three-pointer.
Just 1:58 later the Mountaineers would lead by 13, as West Virginia went on a three-point barrage, hitting from beyond the arc on three consecutive possessions, fueling West Virginia to a 85-64 win on Wednesday night.
“It was important to stop the bleeding at some point,” West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins said. “At some point in time we had to get a stop and get it turned and it just happened to be the time.”
West Virginia came out the gate finding success from three-point range. Erik Stevenson and Tre Mitchell made the first two baskets, both from beyond the arc. Mitchell and Stevenson would combine for 32 points, with 25 of them coming in the first half.
“It’s not our offense, it’s our defense, Stevenson said. “We have to get so much better defensively.”
Navy shot 46.4% from the field, while making nine three-pointers.
Navy’s Austin Benigni scored 20 points, while going 8 for 10 from the field.
“He was little,” West Virginia’s Kedrian Johnson said. “When you’re guarding a shorter player, it’s kind of hard to stay in front.”
West Virginia would led by 10 at the half, but Navy would hang around early in the second half.
“I think part of it is that we haven’t played a whole lot together yet. We have guys from
all over the place, so you’ve got guys who have been taught different things than what we’re trying to teach them,” Huggins said on the drop offs in the second half the past two games.
In the second half, Navy used a 7-0 run, with Benigni scoring all seven points for the Midshipmen to get within six.
The Mountaineers would ultimately flex their muscle though, going on an 8-0 run of their own later in the half to lead by 19.
“I’m really proud of our guys. I think West Virginia is a very good basketball team,” Navy head coach Ed DeChellis said. “They’re going to have a great year. We came into this atmosphere, and we battled.”
West Virginia will be back in action on Saturday when they host UAB. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at the WVU Coliseum.
