The West Virginia Mountaineers defeated the Lehigh Mountain Hawks at the Hope Coliseum in Morgantown by a final score of 69-47 to earn their third win on the season. In an impressive first half, West Virginia seemed to be firing on just about all cylinders on both offense and defense. Lehigh managed to score just seven points through the game’s first 14 minutes. Meanwhile, Brenen Lorient and company were getting it done on both ends of the floor, enjoying a 42-20 lead at the half before coasting to victory in a bit more competitive of a second half. Here are some takeways from the win.
B-Lo’s Strong Showing
West Virginia was paced by a strong performance from Brenen Lorient on both sides of the floor. The Mountaineer senior led all scorers with 26 points. Lorient knocked down 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, an element of his game he has clearly been working on after not attempting many threes last year at North Texas. Lorient continues to be a force on offense and defense for WVU as his Mountaineer career is off to an excellent start.
Honor Huff and Treysen Eaglestaff had a quiet afternoon, combining for just 13 points, making 3-of-11 from downtown. Harlan Obioha put forth a solid performance with 12 points and 8 rebounds in 24 minutes. The 7-footer made 6-of-7 free throw attempts, which is a welcome sign for Mountaineer fans.
Strong Start A Welcoming Sign
The first half that the Mountaineers put together, both offensively and defensively, cannot be overstated. Though it’s a small sample size, that is certainly the best that they have looked in any half this season. They were forcing turnovers and rebounding well on defense, and the offensive sets looked as crisp as we have seen in the young season. The showing in the first half was a complete game where everything seemed to be working for WVU en route to a 22-point lead at the half.
Sloppy Second Half Flips The Narrative
In a tale of two halves, WVU struggled with turnovers and offensive efficiency in the second half. They had a couple of scoring droughts characterized by lazy passes and missed assignments that led to stretches without made field goals. WVU finished the game with 13 turnovers, most of which came in the second half. That type of second-half drought is something the Mountaineers will want to get fixed quick.
Next, We Brawl
The Pitt Panthers are next up on the docket for the Mountaineers, as they will make the trip down I-79 to Hope Coliseum on Thursday night for another edition of the Backyard Brawl. Tip-off is set for 6 PM EST on FS1.