The Mountaineers beat Drexel 66-60 at the WVU Coliseum on Saturday, highlighted by 17 forced turnovers, bringing their record to 4-5.
West Virginia got off to a slow start, trailing Drexel 15-6 6:02 into the game. However, they managed to close the gap and kept it close in the first half, with Drexel holding a slim 33-31 lead heading into the locker rooms.
Drexel got out front early with a 4-0 lead and didn’t give up the entire first half.
The Mountaineers shot very well from three in the first shooting 5-8 compared to the Dragons 2-7.
Drexel committed 10 turnovers in the first 20 minutes, allowing WVU to capitalize with 16 points off of them.
West Virginia took its first lead with 18:58 left in the second half.
Ultimately, WVU picked up the tempo in the second half, forcing Drexel to play zone defense at one point.
Jesse Edwards was the leading scorer for WVU with 16 points, shooting 7-10.
Quinn Slazinkski added 14 points and a team-leading six rebounds in the win.
Akok Akok was back on the court for his second game of the season, making a shot under the basket and hitting a three. Akok, still getting back into the swing of things, is unable to play for extended periods of time, but makes a great impact when he is on the floor.
The Mountaineers were outrebounded by the Drexel 38-31, the Dragons scored 15 second-chance points.
Guard Kerr Kriisa will be back for West Virginia when they travel to take on UMASS on Dec. 16 at 6:30 p.m. EST. Having an extra guy on the bench should greatly benefit WVU, as their lack of depth has become more evident.
