West Virginia (5-0) was able to stay undefeated on the season after taking down Lafayette 81-59 Monday night. Honor Huff led the way with eight three-pointers to account for 24 of WVU’s points. Read more: Honor Huff explodes for 24 in WVU’s 81-59 win against Lafayette
Freshman DJ Thomas also had a career night as he finished with 25 points.
First Half
Lafayette won the tip to get the game started, but it was a catch-and-shoot three from Huff that scored the first basket of the night. Treysen Eaglestaff continued the pursuit on the following offensive possession by forcing a foul on a three-point shot. He made two of three.
Eaglestaff then picked the pocket of a lackadaisical Leopard player, but missed on a wide-open dunk in transition. That caused Lafayette’s Caleb Williams to have an easy layup on the other end.
Huff got back in the score column with his second three of the game after getting his defender in the air with a pump fake. Williams was able to match that three with one of his own.
Mark Butler converted on an and-one opportunity to break the scoring drought for both teams nearly two minutes later. WVU’s DJ Thomas got his first two points of the game after a beautiful find from Eaglestaff on the ensuing offensive possession.
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Following a Harlan Obioha strong drive that resulted in converting one free throw, Lafayette’s Ryan Pettit swished a three as the shot clock was expiring.
Brenen Lorient got the Mountaineers rolling again with a layup a little over a minute after Pettit’s three. Butler immediately answered with a layup of his own.
Thomas was able to respond with another jumper, and then capitalized on a Shareef Jackson miss with a layup. He continued to stay aggressive by getting fouled and converting one of the free throws on the next offensive possession for the Mountaineers.
The freshman once again converted a layup after a nice find from Lorient. Williams converted on both of his free throws shortly after the eight-minute intermission, but Morris Ugusuk quickly answered with a three.
Lafayette’s Christian Humphrey-Rembert converted on a three-pointer after getting the rebound on the next drive. This was answered with another layup from Thomas. Obioha got a rebound on the offensive end and put it back up to keep WVU cruising in the first half.
Huff’s first half masterclass
Huff found the bottom of the net again from beyond the arc following a Butler miss, which forced Lafayette to call a timeout with 4:18 left. Andrew Phillips was able to answer with three of his own afterwards to keep the Leopards afloat.
Huff, however, made his second straight three off a Lafayette turnover just one minute later. Andrew Phillips got a layup to go with 1:20 left to go for his first basket of the half. Following a Lorient miss on the other end, Jackson knocked down the Leopards’ second straight unanswered basket.
That wasn’t until Huff made another deep three as the first half came to a close. The Mountaineers went into the half with a 36-25 lead. Huff’s 15 first-half points played a big factor in creating that margin.
Second Half
Lorient cashed in on a layup to open the second half right where the Mountaineers left it previously. That was answered with Humphrey-Rembert sinking a three-pointer.
Jasper Floyd was able to get a jumper to go at the 18:18 minute mark, breaking his scoreless night. Huff continued his scorching hot night with another three-pointer that was assisted by Floyd.
Thomas also continued his effective night with a layup off a Floyd miss, which was shortly answered with a Phillips layup. Huff then drained his seventh three of the game.
He followed that up with a dunk and a layup on back-to-back possessions after the first TV timeout. Phillips stopped the West Virginia momentum with a three-pointer at the 12:55 mark.
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Freshman Amir Jenkins was able to get a layup to go down right before the 12:00 minute stoppage. Huff came out of the break and sank yet another triple. Williams, however, was able to answer with three of his own.
Jenkins was able to sink another basket following a Lafayette free throw. Williams once again responded with another three-pointer. Right before the third media timeout, Butler got a two-pointer to go to bring Lafayette’s deficit to 15.
Thomas continued to look sharp as he converted on an easy layup after a successful roll to the basket. Phillips made a three on the other end, but Lorient cashed in on a two-pointer to keep the Mountaineers’ comfortable lead.
That lead would continue to grow as the Mountaineers eventually just ran out the clock to remain undefeated on the season.
Quick hitters
This was the Honor Huff game, plain and simple. The five-foot-10 guard was almost automatic from three as he went eight-for-11 from behind the arc. He was one away from tying a program record that was set by WVU great Alex Ruoff in 2008.
When the senior guard is having a good night, he’s arguably the best shooter in the nation.
Freshman forward DJ Thomas also had a strong performance Monday night. He finished with a career high of 25 points. He was effective down low and also showed himself to be a capable roller in the pick-and-roll game.
West Virginia’s defense was once again strong as they came just one shy of forcing 20 Lafayette turnovers. Their off-ball defense is what is most impressive, as they are continuously forcing teams to think twice before passing the ball.
What’s next
West Virginia will be back in action on Friday, Nov. 21, at 6:30 p.m. when the Mountaineers take on Clemson in the Charleston Classic. This will be another big test for the Mountaineers as the Tigers are 3-1 to start their season.
As always, tune in to 100.9 FM The Torch or any of its nine affiliate stations to catch every minute of West Virginia basketball.
