MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Once freshman reserve Teddy Allen snapped No. 10 West Virginia out of a first-half funk, winless Coppin State was in for another rough night.
Allen finished with a season-high 24 points and nine rebounds, Jevon Carter scored 14 and the Mountaineers forced 28 turnovers during a 77-38 romp.
BOXSCORE: West Virginia 77, Coppin State 38
Beetle Bolden added 12 points for the Mountaineers (10-1), who won their 10th straight despite shooting a season-worst 31 percent after opening the game 5-for-24 from the floor.
“That was a horrific display of shooting the ball, wasn’t it?” asked West Virginia coach Bob Huggins.
After sputtering to an 18-17 lead, West Virginia came alive over the final 5:02 of the half for a 24-1 run, sparked by the newcomer nicknamed “Teddy Buckets.”
Allen scored 16 points in that stretch, beginning with a four-point play when he was fouled on a jumper in front of the Coppin State bench. He later made a midcourt steal, made two dribbles and a launched a pull-up 3-pointer — a daring moment for the kid whose sometimes-wild shot selection has drawn Huggins’ ire.
“You’ve got to shoot that one, right? When you steal the ball and you’re just coming down in transition?” Allen joked. “I bet the whole bench was going, ‘No! No! No!’”
Allen’s put-back of a missed shot at the halftime buzzer made the margin 42-18.
He closed the night 8-of-19 shooting.
“It’s hard to tell Teddy what a good shot is and what a good shot isn’t,” Huggins said. “We have to clean up his shot selection. It’s a fine line. Teddy has what all scorers have — no conscience. They figure if they miss a few, they’ll make the rest of them.”
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Tre Thomas scored nine points to pace Coppin State (0-12), which shot 23 percent while playing its 11th game away from home. The Eagles finished with 11 baskets, the fewest allowed by West Virginia since 1949.
“Our pressure was better,” Huggins said. “You didn’t see straight-line drives where we turned guys loose to the rim.”
Coppin State guard Karonn Davis was particularly vulnerable to the “Press Virginia” harassment, committing 11 turnovers.
A Miles milestone
Daxter Miles made only 4-for-13 shots but scored 11 points, including a 3 early in the second half that boosted him over 1,000 points for his West Virginia career.
He became the 52nd Mountaineer to reach the plateau, and was asked how many of the previous 51 he could recall.
“JC, Devin Williams, Jerry West, Juwan Staten, Hot Rod Hundley — I can name a few more, but that’s just off the top of my head,” Miles said. “God is good. I’m proud of that little accomplishment.”
A Baltimore native, Miles was happy to see Coach Juan Dixon on the opposing bench, noting that one of his youngest memories was watching Dixon lead Maryland to the 2002 national championship.
“I actually had his Maryland jersey,” said Miles.
Notes, numbers, etc.
West Virginia forward Lamont West was sidelined after sustaining a sprained ankle in practice Tuesday. He had started all 10 previous games and was averaging 11.9 points. … The Mountaineers improved to 17-0 all-time against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opponents. … Coppin State made 3-of-20 from 3-point range, while West Virginia was 6-of-29. … The Mountaineers enjoyed a 56-41 rebounding edge, including eight by the 6-foot Bolden.
Quotable
“At one point JC asks me what we should run and I said, ‘I have no idea. Why don’t you and Dax just dribble around for a while in a circle.’” — Huggins on WVU’s cold shooting