MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The Mountaineers (2-0) beat Stetson at Hope Coliseum, 91-53. Miles Sadler led the team with 25 points, six assists, and added three rebounds. Joson Sanon chipped in 18 points, hitting six three-pointers en route to a dominant victory over the Hatters. The Mountaineers shot 41.9% from behind the arc, and 50% from the field. West Virginia returns to action on November 12, against Mercer at Hope Coliseum at 7 p.m. Eastern. Read more: WVU coasts to victory over Stetson with lights-out shooting.
“I thought he was really aggressive to start,” Head coach Ross Hodge said. “I thought his decision-making when he gets into the paint has gotten better. He can get there, not whenever he wants, but he can get there a lot. Then it’s just about his willingness to make the right play.”
Sadler scored the first basket in each half and got the Mountaineers off on the right foot tonight. Then he made the right plays and found shooters who are able to knock down shots.
Sadler’s early scoring ignites WVU
The Mountaineers won the tip, and Sadler found his way in the lane to open the scoring. Stetson responded with a layup from Collin Kuhl. Mouhamed Sylla woke up the crowd with a dunk off an assist from Seydou Traore.
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WVU jumped out to an early 7-2 lead thanks to a three-pointer from Finley Bizjack. The Mountaineers picked up three offensive rebounds on the possession and kicked it out to Bizjack, who pump-faked to create space and knocked down the shot.
Sadler knocked down a three-pointer of his own after an offensive foul by Stetson. Roman Miller made a layup on the other end to make it 12-7 before the first media timeout.
Bizjack made two at the line after Javan Buchanan split his attempts to move the score to 15-7. Amadou Seini made his presence known off the bench for the Mountaineers. He scored two quick buckets, including the second following an offensive rebound.
Sean Morgan answered with a three-pointer for Stetson, but Joson Sanon hit a three-pointer quickly after. Bizjack assisted on the shot. Magnus Entenmann made a layup, but Sanon started to heat up.
Sanon hit another three-pointer, and Thiago Sucatazky scored in the lane on the other end. He knocked down a contested three-pointer from the left wing to give him nine consecutive points before the second media timeout.
Sanon picked up where he left off following the break with another three-pointer from the corner, assisted by Brenen Lorient. Stetson responded with five quick points, including a three-pointer from Morgan, to make it 31-21 with 8:55 remaining.
Stetson tried to claw back
The Hatters started to eat into the lead of the Mountaineers. They made a second-chance layup from Kuhl, and one free throw from Entenmann to make it 31-24. Bizjack made a driving layup in response that got the crowd into it. Morgan silenced them with a three-pointer, but Sadler responded with a three-pointer from the corner.
Sadler broke the two-and-half-minute drought with a driving layup after grabbing the defensive rebound. He scored a jump shot in the paint on the next possession to stretch the lead to 40-27 before the media timeout.
Sucatzky missed the front-end of the one-and-one after the break. Buchanan made one of two on the other end for the Mountaineers. Stetson moved into a 2-3 zone on defense, and WVU struggled to find production. Kuhl made two free throws with 1:40 remaining after a Makhi Myles steal.
Sylla was blocked under the rim, and it turned into free throws on the other end for the Hatters. Kuhl made one of two to pull within eleven points.
Bizjack got to the line after a cross-court pass opened up a driving lane. He made both at the charity stripe in the waning seconds of the half. The Mountaineers took a 43-30 lead into the locker room.
At the break
West Virginia shot 48.4% from the field, making 15-of-31 attempts. They shot 50% from three on 14 attempts. Stetson shot 50% from the field on 22 attempts, but only 28.6% from behind the arc. They also missed six free throws, shooting four-of-10 from the line. The Mountaineers made six-of-eight attempts at the free-throw line.
WVU won the turnover battle, four to five, and converted those turnovers into 11 points. They also had eight offensive rebounds and 10 second-chance points. The outrebounded Stetson 20-10.
Sadler led all scorers with 14 points, including two three-pointers. Sanon went four-of-five from behind the arc and had 12 points. Bizjack got the line four times, making all of his attempts and adding nine points for the Mountaineers. Morgan led the Hatters with nine points on three three-pointers.
Sadler does it all
Sadler started the second half with a driving layup. Bizjack grabbed a defensive rebound and found Sadler running up the floor. He scored with a strong move in the lane.
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Sadler found Traore for an alley-oop from near half-court that brought the crowd to their feet. It also prompted Stetson head coach Donnie Jones to call a 30-second timeout, with the Mountaineers extending their lead to 19.
Bizjack knocked down a triple after Sadler found him in the corner while driving on the baseline. Morgan immediately answered with a three-pointer.
Sadler drove the lane and found Seini for the alley-oop. Seini paid it back after grabbing a steal near half-court and finding a running Sadler for an easy layup. That made it 56-33 before the media timeout.
Entenmann made two from the line after the break. Martin Somerville made a three-pointer in response, assisted by Sadler, his fifth of the night. Entenmann responded with a step-back jumper.
Sanon knocked down his fifth three-pointer of the night, stretching the lead to 25. Kuhl knocked down a three-pointer, and followed with a strong layup for Stetson.
Sucatzky answered with a layup after a WVU timeout, and Sanon responded with his sixth three-pointer of the night. Sadler and Traore made a pair of layups under the eight-minute mark to make it 75-47.
Somerville and Sadler connected on a pair of threes that made it a 30-point game with under five minutes.
Traore had another alley-oop off a pass from Somerville that made it 87-53 with a little over three minutes remaining. The game slowed down as WVU started to wind the clock. They won 91-53.
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