National Basketball Association
West Virginia 100, New Hampshire 41
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, November 20, 2016
Where: WVU Coliseum, Morgantown, West Virginia
Officials:
# Kevin Mathis, # Gary Maxwell, # Bert Smith
Attendance:
8842
By The Sports Xchange
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Esa Ahmad's 14 points led six double-digit scorers and No. 19 West Virginia's defensive intensity never relented during a 100-41 win over New Hampshire on Sunday.
Reserve forward Lamont West scored 13 points -- helping the Mountaineers (3-0) enjoy a massive 50-10 edge in bench scoring -- while regulars Nathan Adrian and Jevon Carter added 12 each.
Tarik Phillip chipped in 11 points and four assists and backup Teyvon Myers scored 11 points in 16 minutes as the Mountaineers shot 54 percent.
"We're a much better passing team and we got some good looks today," said Ahmad, who grabbed eight rebounds and matched his career scoring high. "And on defense we were just trying to fly around."
New Hampshire (2-2) shot 30 percent from the floor and committed 34 turnovers, including a flurry in the closing minutes when even West Virginia's walk-ons kept up the full-court press.
"New Hampshire is really good in the halfcourt," said Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins. "They make adjustments and they make great reads on screens, but we just try not to let people run what they run."
West Virginia finished 15 of 32 from 3-point range, while the mid-major Wildcats (4 of 21) struggled from deep.
Huggins' decision to bench big men Elijah Macon and Brandon Watkins for being late contributed to a 36-all rebounding stalemate. Both are expected back in the rotation for Thursday's NIT Tip-off game against Illinois in Brooklyn.
"As long as they can read the clock," Huggins said.
New Hampshire guard Jaleen Smith, coming off a 27-point performance against Abilene Christian, failed to score for the first time in 39 games. He fouled out with five turnovers and an 0-for-3 shooting line in 27 minutes.
"He didn't score at all?" asked Carter. "We were just playing defense. He was definitely a big part of the scouting report, trying to keep the ball out of his hands. It's tough when you've got to beat that press."
Iba Camara had 10 points, 12 rebounds and a team-high seven turnovers for the Wildcats while Daniel Dion scored 10.
Carter made five of his team's 19 steals, including a spectacular play on which he dove out of bounds and flipped a blind pass to Myers for a dunk.
"Best play of my WVU career," said Myers, "and Jevon made it all happen."
West Virginia seized command with a 22-2 first-half run, a seven-minute stretch in which New Hampshire missed nine consecutive shots and committed six turnovers.
James "Beetle" Bolden's 3-point buzzer-beater gave the Mountaineers a 46-20 cushion at half.
NOTES: Mountaineers G Daxter Miles (9.4 points, 2.1 rebounds last season) remains sidelined with mononucleosis. He could return against Illinois though Huggins remains worried about the junior's conditioning. ... West Virginia freshman F Sagaba Konate made his first start, replacing Elijah Macon. He scored only one basket but swatted away a layup attempt by Iba Camara and made three steals.
Top Game Performances
New Hampshire |
|
West Virginia |
Iba Camara 10 |
Scoring |
Esa Ahmad 14 |
Jaleen Smith 4 |
Assists |
Nathan Adrian 4 |
Iba Camara 12 |
Rebounds |
Esa Ahmad 8 |
Tanner Leissner 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Esa Ahmad 5 |
Tanner Leissner 2 |
Steals |
Jevon Carter 5 |
Iba Camara 2 |
Blocks |
Maciej Bender 1 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
New Hampshire
|
41 |
30.4 |
4-21 |
9-12 |
8 |
32 |
2 |
4 |
34 |
West Virginia
|
100 |
54.4 |
15-32 |
11-20 |
24 |
34 |
4 |
19 |
11 |