West Virginia Pounds the Niagara Purple Eagles to Lift Lid on 2026-27 Season

MORGANTOWN, WV — John Denver's voice echoed throughout Hope Coliseum for the first time this season following West Virginia's 91-46 win over the Niagara Purple Eagles on Monday night.

It wasn't easy breezy from the opening tip, like many expected, myself included. Niagara hit five of their first seven shots from the field and had an extra pep in their step defensively because of it, leaving the Mountaineers a little out of sorts.

Niagara jumped out to a 16-6 lead before the Mountaineers settled in and started driving the ball inside, fueling a 23-3 run, much of which was orchestrated by the backcourt duo of Miles Sadler and Finley Bizjack. After a 2/8 start from the field, WVU ended the half at 48.5% and took a 43-30 lead into the locker room.

At the first media timeout in the second half, WVU still had a 13-point advantage, but it didn't stay there for long. The Mountaineers heated up from three and played smothering defense, forcing Niagara into several live-ball turnovers, resulting in points the other way for WVU.

Martin Somerville hit three threes, and Joson Sanon ticked the twine on back-to-back three-point attempts to balloon the lead to over 30.

Player of the Night: Miles Sadler

The highest-rated recruit in program history wasted very little time making an impact on the program, nearly recording a double-double in his collegiate debut. Sadler finished with 16 points, nine assists, and three steals, hitting 6/14 shots from the field. His burst is in a league of its own. Once the ball is in his hands, if you're a millisecond late, you're doomed. He is going to make you pay every single time, and he certainly did that tonight.

Stat of the Night: 24 turnovers

West Virginia's defense wasn't all that sharp in the beginning, but boy, did they finish strong, giving up just 16 points in the final 20 minutes of the contest. Much of that was due to their ability to force turnovers- 24 of them, to be exact. There are certainly some things to clean up on that end, but anytime you force 20+ turnovers in game one, that's something you can build off of.

Up Next: Stetson

West Virginia will have the next few days off before they get back at it on Friday, when they welcome in the Stetson Hatters. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

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