West Virginia smothers Mercyhurst in wire-to-wire win

Chance Moore scored 11 points off the bench to lead West Virginia to a 70-38 wire-to-wire win over Mercyhurst on Saturday in Morgantown W. Va.

Reserve Amir Jenkins added 10 points for the Mountaineers (6-2). Brenen Lorient, Jackson Fields and Treysen Eaglestaff added nine points each as West Virginia snapped a two-game losing streak. The Mountaineers held a 37-7 edge in bench points.

Bernie Blunt III led Mercyhurst (3-5) with a game-high 14 points. Jake Lemelman added six points for the Lakers, who have dropped three straight games.

West Virginia burst out of the gates with a 10-0 game-opening run as Eaglestaff turned a steal into a layup to cap the rally.

But there would be some fight in the Lakers, who answered the Mountaineers' outburst with their own 10-0 spurt. Blunt got the run started with back-to-back 3-pointers as the Lakers closed the gap to 18-15.

A layup from Jenkins pushed West Virginia's advantage to 26-17 at the 7:38 mark. The Mountaineers held a 36-16 advantage in points scored in the paint.

When Honor Huff gathered a loose ball and pushed into transition, his pass to Moore led to a soaring, two-hand slam on the break, and West Virginia went up 31-19. West Virginia forced 15 turnovers, which led to 24 points. Conversely, the Lakers managed just seven points off 10 West Virginia turnovers.

Moore reeled off five straight points as part of an 8-0 Mountaineers run to close the first half. West Virginia held a 39-22 halftime advantage.

A three from Eaglestaff to open the second half kept the West Virginia run going. The Lakers didn't notch a second-half basket until Christian Gamble's fadeaway at the 15:54 mark. Mercyhurst went scoreless for over six minutes as the Mountaineers' 15-0 run spanned both halves.

Jasper Floyd's layup extended the West Virginia lead to 58-28 with 9:40 to play. West Virginia's defense stifled Mercyhurst in the second half. The Lakers shot 33.3% from the field (16 of 48) for the game and were 1 of 6 on second-half 3-point attempts. Mercyhurst only scored 16 points in the second half.

--Field Level Media