West Virginia Pulls Away Late in Season-Opener
Morgantown, WV - The West Virginia Mountaineers handled Mount St. Mary's 76-58 Monday night. Forward Emmitt Matthews Jr. led the Mountaineers with 15 points while forward Tre Mitchell put in 15.
West Virginia committed six turnovers in the first nine minutes of action and the game was tied at 10 before Texas Transfer Tre Mitchell, who was a game time decision with a foot injury, came into the game and buried a three from the left wing.
Mount St. Mary's hit a pair of free throws to get within one, but sophomore guard Seth Wilson hit a jumper, sparking a 15-0 run, as the Mountaineers pushed their lead to 16, 28-12.
The Mountaineers led 30-18 at the break with Wilson leading all scorers with seven.
West Virginia pushed the lead back to 16 at the at the 15:24 mark but a three from Deandre Thomas to cut the lead to 11 prompted head coach Bob Huggins to call a timeout. Senior forward Emmitt Matthews Jr., in his return to Morgantown, responded with consecutive dunks and the Mountaineers were up 15 with 11:33 left to play.
Nov 7, 2022; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers forward Emmitt Matthews Jr. (1) talks to teammates during the first half against the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers at WVU Coliseum.
Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Tempers flared midway through the second half after a foul on WVU guard Joe Toussaint escalated after he inadvertently elbowed guard Jalen Benjamin, words were exchanged and so were technical fouls.
After the dust settled, Mount St. Mary's won the free throw exchange to get back within 11.
West Virginia built a 17-point kead with just over six minutes left to play but, again, Mount. St. Mary's would chip away to get within 12.
The Mountaineers amped up their defense late with a quick 6-0 surge to climb the lead to 19, highlighted by another Emmitt Matthews Jr. dunk, as West Virginia takes the season-opener 76-58.
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