The West Virginia men’s basketball team picked up a much-needed win at home Wednesday, defeating new Big 12 opponent Cincinnati 69-65.
The Mountaineers played well down the stretch, but the Bearcats had clear offensive woes which ultimately helped WVU become victorious.
Cincinnati’s Shooting
UC had trouble getting it to fall Wednesday, especially from three.
They shot 25 of 66 (37.9%) overall in the game and nine of 32 (28.1%) from three. In the first half, the Bearcats made just one triple on 10 attempts.
Viktor Lakhin who was Cincy’s leading scorer on average coming into the game didn’t score a single point, shooting 0-5, including 0-4 from the arc.
Lakhin caused four turnovers in 18 minutes.
The Bearcats’ leading scorer Dan Skillings Jr. ended with 15 points, shooting just six of 19, but had more success than the rest of his teammates from three shooting three of nine in that aspect.
Turnovers
Cincinnati had 13 turnovers compared to West Virginia’s 11.
The Mountaineers were able to get seven blocks and four steals against the Bearcats. WVU scored 22 points off of forced turnovers which equates to 32% of their total points in the contest.
UC was only able to score 12 points off of turnovers.
Late West Virginia Comeback
With just under six-and-a-half minutes left to play, WVU trailed by 10, 60-50.
From that point forward the Mountaineers would go on a 19-5, including a 12-0 run that would put them up by two before a Cincinnati three.
In that stretch, Mountaineers center Jesse Edwards would have nine points helping West Virginia close out the game.
Points in the Paint/Jesse Edwards
With Edwards back in the starting lineup and seeing more minutes WVU benefited greatly.
In his return to game action against Oklahoma State on Saturday, Edwards didn’t start, only playing 16 minutes scoring four points, with four rebounds and two steals.
In the Mountaineers victory on Wednesday, Edwards played 29 minutes achieving a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds. He also had four blocks and an assist.
With help from Edwards, West Virginia scored 34 points in the paint, nearly half of their total points. He threw down five dunks, all in the second half. However coming off his wrist injury, Edwards struggled from the free-throw line, shooting just three of nine, including missing his first four.
