WVU Men's Basketball: Mountaineers Handle Division II Shepherd 109-60

Mountaineer fans got their first opportunity to see the 2014-15 WVU basketball squad in action on Sunday as they defeated the Division II Shepherd Rams 109-60 in an exhibition at the WVU Coliseum.

WVU struggled early, with Shepherd only trailing 25-23 twelve minutes in. That was as close as it got, though, as the Mountaineers pressure defense really started to bother the Rams and WVU held a 40-29 halftime lead.

The second half was the complete domination we all expected, with WVU outscoring Shepherd 69-31 on their way to a 109-60 victory.

Six players scored in double figures, led by newcomer Jaysean Paige with 13. Devin Williams dominated the boards with 14 rebounds to go along with 11 points. Juwan Staten, who didn't start as he recovers from injury, played 18 minutes, scored 11 points, and had some dazzling drives to the rim. The Mountaineers finished with 20 steals, and outrebounded Shepherd 53-29. They shot 8-25 from three and were 23-35 at the line.

Here are the numbers for the notable new Mountaineers:

• Jonathan Holton: 9 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, 3-6 FG
• Daxter Miles: 9 points, 1 steal, 4-9 FG, 1-5 from 3
• Jaysean Paige: 13 points, 5 rebounds, 6 steals, 6-9 FG
• Jevon Carter: 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2-5 FG
• Tarik Philip: 10 points, 3 assists, 3 steals, 5-6 FG
• Elijah Macon: 11 points, 9 rebounds, 4-9 FG

The Mountaineers begin regular season play on Friday, November 14th against Monmouth.