West Virginia Gets Past Jacksonsville State, 74-72

Though it was occasionally touch and go — with WVU finding itself trailing by eight in the first half—the Mountaineers slipped by Jacksonsville State 74-72, to improve their record to 7-4 on the season.

It was the second straight game the Mountaineers were without Sagabe Konante, who continues to deal with a knee issue, that head coach Bob Huggins said could keep him out another 2-4 weeks. In his place, WVU utilized a committee of big men including Logan Route, Andrew Gordon and Derek Culver, who made his delayed debut in a Mountaineer uniform. Together, they combined for 9 points and 6 rebounds.

But it was a strong second-half from Wesley Harris (20 points) and Lamont West (18) that lifted WVU to a victory. Brandon Knapper contributed from the bench with a season high 12 points, adding to 38 bench points. WVU needed all of them as starters Beetle Bolden and Esa Ahmed saw only limited minutes and combined for just 7 points in 17 minutes of play.

Up Next:

• WVU hosts Lehigh on Sunday, December 30 at 2:00 PM on AT&T Sportsnet in their final tune up before opening BIG XII play on January 2 vs Texas Tech.
• Jacksonsville State returns home to host Reinhardt on December 29.