MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Jevon Carter ripped the ball loose, fired an outlet downcourt, got the return on a behind-the-back bounce pass from Tarik Phillip and laid in the scoop shot.
No. 11 West Virginia was on its way to dominating another mid-major opponent, routing Radford 84-57 on Tuesday night.
“That’s just how we play — we give it up for each other,” said Carter, who finished with 15 points on 5-of-5 shooting and dished out five assists.
BOX SCORE: West Virginia 84, Radford 57
Esa Ahmad scored 17 points and the Mountaineers (10-1) continued forcing turnovers in droves — 29 this time — with their relentless 94-foot “Press Virginia” defense. The fast-and-furious start gave way to a disinterested second half, however, as West Virginia won its sixth straight game since a Nov. 25 loss to Temple.
The Mountaineers got 13 points and five assists off the bench from Phillip, whose flashy pass was risky. After all, Carter was benched by coach Bob Huggins last year after throwing away a behind-the-back try.
But Phillip flashed a mischievous grin and said, “I take those chances, because I like my odds.”
Radford (4-7) kept the margin respectable in the opening 10 minutes, trailing only 23-18 after Justin Cousin banked in a 3-pointer. But from there the Mountaineers closed the half on a 30-4 run, forcing 13 turnovers while yielding only 10 shots in the stretch.
The 53-22 bulge at intermission didn’t lessen Huggins’ intensity. He yanked his starters barely a minute into the second half after a couple of sluggish possessions. His mood soured further when Radford rallied to outscore West Virginia 35-31 over the final 20 minutes.
Huggins also groused over his team making only 15-of-31 free throws and being out-rebounded 40-37.
“Why do you spend 12 months getting ready to play these games, and then not embrace these games when you put all that work into it?” he said.
“If you miss free throws, miss layups and fumble balls, you’re not ready to play.”
West Virginia has coasted to an 8-0 home record, winning by a margin exceeding 41 points, which some players used to explain the lapse in focus.
“We get up so big in the first half and everybody’s acting like we’ve done won the game already,” Phillip said. “I don’t want to say we take plays off but that’s really what we do. We’ve got to maintain the intensity for 40 minutes.”
Cousin finished with 12 points and Caleb Tanner added 10 for Radford, which fell to 0-6 in road games. Forward Ed Polite, who came in averaging a double-double, was held to five points and five rebounds with six turnovers.
Freshmen orientation
The freshman collective of Sagaba Konate, Maciej Bender, Beetle Bolden, Lamont West and Chase Harler combined for 4-of-14 shooting, with one assist, seven rebounds, five fouls and no steals.
“If I don’t play some of them freshmen, we don’t have enough guys,” Huggins said. “I’m trying to get them as many minutes as I can possibly get them, but they have to go in and play too. They can’t go in there and shoot it every time the touch it or stand on the perimeter and not do anything.”
Notes, tidbits
Huggins earned his 801st career coaching win. … The announced attendance was 8,311. … West Virginia improved to 6-0 against Radford. … The Mountaineers came in creating a national-best 26 turnovers per game and forced 21 by halftime. They netted only eight after the break, however. “The pressure wasn’t as good in the second half,” Carter said.