West Virginia pulls away in 2nd half to dump Drexel

Field Level Media|published: Sat 9th December, 18:14 2023

Oct 18, Kansas City, MO, USA; West Virginia interim head coach Josh Eilert answers questions at Big 12 Men s Basketball Tipoff at T-Mobile Center. credits: Kylie Graham-USA TODAY Sports

Jesse Edwards scored 16 points to help host West Virginia surge in the second half to a 66-60 victory over Drexel on Saturday in Morgantown, W.Va.

Quinn Slazinski delivered 14 points and six rebounds, and Josh Wilson added 11 points as West Virginia (4-5) snapped a two-game losing streak.

The Mountaineers trailed by nine points early and never led in the first half but solved the aggressive defense of the Dragons after intermission.

Justin Moore provided 20 points to lead Drexel (5-5), which was gunning for its second upset of a power conference school in eight days. A week earlier, the Dragons toppled No. 18 Villanova.

Amari Williams added 12 points and 15 rebounds, leading Drexel to a 38-31 edge on the boards as it tried to deliver coach Zach Spiker a win in his hometown. Spiker played three miles away at Morgantown High School.

Down 33-31 at the break, West Virginia started the second half on an offensive spree, scoring 17 points in the first 5:38.

When Akok Akok hit a 3-pointer and followed with a fastbreak layup after a steal and upcourt feed by Kobe Johnson, the Mountaineers took a 48-42 lead.

Drexel slowed the pace, switching from a man-to-man to zone defense, and at the other end of the floor, Mate Okros and Moore drained 3-pointers as the Dragons quickly tied it up, 48-all.

After missing five straight shots, the Mountaineers heated up again, making five in a row to take the lead for good. Edwards polished off an 8-2 run with a dunk and a layup as West Virginia took a 56-50 lead with 6:44 left. Down the stretch, Ofri Naveh drilled a 3-pointer that gave the Mountaineers a 62-54 lead.

Drexel cut the lead to 64-60 as Morre swished a jumper with 48 seconds left but Edwards answered with another slam dunk as West Virginia remained in control.

The Mountaineers tightened up their defense in the second half, allowing the Dragons to hit 34.3 percent of their shots, compared to 51.9 percent accuracy in the first half.

For the game, Drexel made just 5 of 22 from beyond the arc, while West Virginia hit 7 of 17 (41.2 percent) from deep.

The Mountaineers also outscored the Dragons 22-10 off turnovers.

—Field Level Media

Latest