WVU Men’s Basketball (13-7, 4-3) dropped another road game, losing 88-53 to Arizona on Saturday. The Wildcats outclassed the Mountaineers in all areas from start to finish. Read more: Arizona cruises past West Virginia, 88–53.
The No. 1-ranked Arizona Wildcats (20-0, 7-0) remain unbeaten after the lopsided win. Chance Moore and Tryesen Eaglestaff did all they could for the Mountaineers, but they failed to get enough from their supporting class to match the Wildcats’ efforts.
First half
West Virginia’s second straight game in the Grand Canyon State started with Harlan Obioha winning the tip. After a three-point miss from Honor Huff, Arizona’s Ivan Kharchenkov connected on a layup for the game’s first points.
The Wildcats started hot with back-to-back threes from Brayden Burries on the following possessions. A three from Eaglestaff helped tame the early onslaught. After a free throw from Jaden Bradley, Arizona went into the first media timeout with an 11-4 lead.
Brenen Lorient hit a tough turnaround jumper after the break, but it was immediately answered with a two-pointer from Arizona. They continued to pour it on early with seven quick points, which the Mountaineers only answered with a layup by Lorient.
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With Arizona’s lead building, Honor Huff managed to hit his first three after a handful of misses to cut the deficit to 11. WVU continued its run with five straight points from Chance Moore. However, the Wildcats were able to answer with their own seven-point run. Eaglestaff once again slowed down the push with a three.
Late in the half, freshman DJ Thomas converted on a mid-range jumper, but it was answered with another seven straight points from the Wildcats. Huff was able to convert on a floater that brought WVU’s deficit to 17.
Arizona ended the half with a steal by Dwayne Aristode and a coast-to-coast layup right before the buzzer sounded. That allowed the Wildcats to go into the half with a 43-23 lead.
Second half
Arizona started the second half on the free-throw line, eerily similar to how the previous half went. After converting one of them, Kharchenkov finished with a layup after an Obioha miss. Huff made another floater on the other end, but it was quickly answered with a three from Burries. The Wildcats continued to make shots, and at the 16:00 minute mark, they boasted a 53-27 lead.
Moore threw down a dunk, and Eaglestaff connected on a three that helped, but Arizona followed with two free throws and a layup from Tobe Awaka. Shortly later, Koa Peat added to the lead with a two-pointer that was just short of being a three. Moore and Huff combined for a quick five-point run for WVU immediately after.
Arizona’s Motiejus Krivas connected on a three-pointer of his own right before the 12:00 minute timeout, and then hit another right after. That brought Arizona’s lead to 26.
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Morris Uguzuk checked into the game right before the third media timeout and hit a layup. Moore followed up with a contested layup where he got fouled and converted on the free throw. After another free throw from Arizona, Moore missed a layup, which Peat took advantage of with an alley-oop.
He followed that up with another layup after two Brenen Lorient free throws. A minute later, he tipped in a miss from his teammate. After the last media timeout, the Wildcats continued their final onslaught with a seven-point stretch that brought their lead to 35.
After that, Arizona brought out its bench and just had to run out the remaining clock. The final buzzer sounded off with Arizona toppling WVU 88-53.
Top performers
WVU: Chance Moore- led the team with 12 points on just 22 minutes of action. His straight line drives continue to be a problem for opposing defenses, and he even connected on a three-pointer in the first half.
Arizona: Motiejus Krivas- the 7-foot-4 Lithuanian native recorded a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds
Arizona: Brayden Burries- led all scorers with 22 and added a team high seven assists. The freshman guard also had just two turnovers.
What’s next
The Mountaineers can shake off this lopsided loss with their upcoming home matchup against Kansas State. The Wildcats (10-9) have struggled mightily this season, especially on the road, where they are 1-4.
The two teams face off on January 27, with tip-off slated for 8:30 p.m. ET.
As always, stay up to date with WVU Men’s Basketball and other WVU Athletics news on wvsportsnation.com.
