It wasn't always pretty, but West Virginia men's basketball handled their business and walked away from their final non-conference game of the season with a 67-46 win against Mercyhurst. The Mountaineers (9-2) have now matched their overall win total from the 2023-24 season before even beginning their Big 12 slate.
It wasn't a game without it's struggles -- already down starting forward Tucker DeVries indefinitely with a shoulder issue, the Mountaineers lost another starter for the Mercyhurst game early in the action when Amani Hansberry went down with a lower-body injury. He walked off the court under his own power, and later returned to the bench and was seen with ice on his ankle, but did not return.
The Mountaineers also only managed to shoot 5-19 (26%) from behind-the-arc in a slower shooting effort, but the WVU defense came through with a tenacious performance -- Mercyhurst was held to 15-53 (28%) from the field overall and gave away 16 turnovers.
The Mountaineers were paced in scoring by a 19-point performance from Javon Small, and a 14-poiunt performance from Eduardo Andre. Toby Okani also chipped in 13 points and added 12 rebounds in a double-double performance.
WVU will return to action on New Year's Eve as they open conference play with a tough road trip to Kansas.