As they did against Virginia Tech, the Mountaineers built up a big first half lead only to watch it dwindle by halftime. The two teams traded punches, feeling each other out for the first ten minutes of the game. Eron Harris hit a three at the 6:06 mark of the first half to put the Mountaineers up 35-29. From there, West Virginia was able to build up a 14 point lead when Devin Williams made a layup to put the Mountaineers up 45-31 at the 2:39 mark. From there, the Dukes went on a 12-4 run that was helped late in the first half when Micah Mason drilled a three and was fouled with two seconds left. Mason made the foul shot and the half ended with the Mountaineers up 49-43.
The Dukes continued their comeback in the second half, tying the game up on a Mason three pointer with 14:51 left in the game. From there, though, any similarities between this game and the Virginia Tech game were washed away. The Mountaineers were able to maintain a slight lead over the next seven minutes. With WVU up 75-71, Eron Harris and the Mountaineers went on a 14-1 run and were able to maintain a double digit lead for the rest of the game on the way to a 96-83 win.
Eron Harris lead West Virginia and all scorers with 33. Juwan Staten was right behind him with 28 points. While Harris made his money at the three point line, Staten scored 14 of his 28 points from the foul line. Ovie Soko lead the Dukes with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
Defense was optional in this game for both teams and I have to imagine Juwan Staten and the Mountaineers are going to have a harder time getting penetration against most of the better teams on the schedule. However, it's not hard to imagine this Mountaineer team scoring a ton of points this year. Where Eron Harris and Terry Henderson were the only reliable offensive options, this team has several options to keep the defense honest. If they can find any defensive scheme to slow their opponents down, the Mountaineers could be the dangerous team we were waiting on last year.