Even the best defense could use a bit of offense, WVU found on Saturday.
After a late night tip-off on the road, the West Virginia Mountaineers were no match for the No. 25 BYU Cougars, falling 77-56. With the loss, WVU fell to 17-12 overall, 8-10 in conference play, and 4-4 against ranked opponents after starting 4-1 in such games.
The Big 12’s second highest scorers and second best in points allowed went head to head in the game, and early, it seemed defense was more valuable.
West Virginia held BYU in the single digits for nearly seven minutes to start the game despite the Cougars’ 81.1 points per game on average. After scoring 10, BYU did not score again for the next five minutes and 59 seconds.
The effort was statistically impressive, but it made little difference due to WVU’s own offensive struggles. The Mountaineers scored just four points in the first nine minutes before a pair of buckets from seniors Javon Small and Joseph Yesufu in the 10th.
Down 13-8, Amani Hansberry hit the first three of the game, putting WVU at 1-for-10 from distance compared to BYU’s 0-for-4. Momentum built as WVU took its first lead on a Sencire Harris steal and basket in transition.
Small capped off a 9-0 Mountaineer run with a three of his own, but the final five minutes saw WVU return to its offensive struggles. All the while, the Cougars eventually found their way around the Mountaineer defense.
At 15 points with under three minutes to go in the first, BYU went on a 10-0 run to end the half, leading 25-19.
Senior center Fousseyni Traore was the Cougars’ secret weapon, especially with their uncharacteristic hardships from three. Despite primarily facing Eduardo Andre, who stands five inches taller than Traore at 6-foot-11, Traore used his body in the post to push his way into 10 first-half points on 4-for-5 shooting from the field.
In the second half, BYU’s post offense came alive, and as double-teaming Javon Small proved more and more frustrating for West Virginia, the Cougar lead grew.
BYU scored the first eight points of the second half, doing so in under two minutes. Included were three from 6-foot-9 freshman guard Egor Demin, who kicked off the half with BYU’s first make from distance.
Demin would later make BYU’s second three of the game to start a streak of three Cougar makes in a row from three. BYU finished 5-for-15 from three after starting 1-for-8.
Traore continued his dominance throughout the second half to end with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and two assists in 21 minutes off the bench. Demin ended the game with 15, and junior guard Richie Saunders, whose matchup against Javon Small was slated to be the main event of the night, scored 13.
BYU tore WVU’s defense apart in the second half, outscoring the Mountaineers 52-37. 17 West Virginia points were scored in the final seven minutes of play, where WVU never trailed by less than 14. BYU scored 12 in that time.
Final shooting splits for West Virginia were 21-for-63 from the field, 8-for-27 from three, and 6-for-10 from the line.
Defensively, the Mountaineers picked up six steals compared to one from BYU and forced seven turnovers to BYU’s four. BYU’s inside presence made winning a distant dream, though, as BYU drew 22 fouls while only committing 12 and out-rebounded the Mountaineers 43-32.
West Virginia will play one last road game in Utah against the Utes before returning home for its regular season finale on Saturday against UCF.
Photo by Korey Moore, Blue Gold Sports
