West Virginia’s newcomers continue to make a major difference, and the Mountaineers are returning home champions of the Cancun Challenge as a result.
One night after Miles McBride led a come-from-behind win over Northern Iowa, fellow freshman Oscar Tshiebwe was dominant in helping West Virginia to a 75-63 win against Wichita State at Hard Rock Hotel in Riviera Maya, Mexico.
On his 20th birthday, Tshiebwe finished with 19 points and 18 rebounds. He was named the tournament’s most outstanding player after helping the Mountaineers improve to 6-0.
“Oscar did a good job staying out of foul trouble, which was key for him,” said West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins. “He pursues that ball.”
Outside of a 2-0 deficit, the Mountaineers never trailed. They held a 27-19 lead after Sean McNeil’s second three-pointer in the first half, but Wichita State answered with an 8-1 run before Gabe Osabuohien converted a tip-in for his first points in a West Virginia uniform.
That allowed the Mountaineers to hold a three-point lead at halftime that would have been more were it not for 4-of-11 shooting from the free-throw line.
Emmitt Matthews Jr. and Tshiebwe combined for nine straight West Virginia points that enabled the Mountaineers to up their lead to 44-36 with 14:54 to play. McBride added consecutive baskets soon after to expand the advantage to 12, and the Shockers (6-1) never got closer than six the rest of the way.
Erik Stevenson led Wichita State with 22 points, but the rest of the Shockers made only 11-of-44 shots.
Tshiebwe made 5-of-8 shots and 9-of-13 free throws to go along with six offensive rebounds. Matthews added 13 points to give WVU a second double-figure scorer.
Jordan McCabe made 7-of-8 free throws and scored nine points, while McNeil added eight. After being held without a field goal against the Panthers, Derek Culver was 3-for-7 with seven points and nine rebounds in the win.
“What makes me feel so good is they love West Virginia,” Huggins said. “They love being a part of it. They love the people, the fans and the way they support us. They’re the first ones to go sing “Country Roads” with the fans in the stands.”
Tshiebwe and Culver combined for four fewer rebounds than the entire Shockers team and helped West Virginia control the glass, 48-31.
“Those are two of the premier rebounders in our league and probably in the country,” Huggins said.
After struggling from the charity stripe in the opening half, the Mountaineers made 14-of-19 free throws over the final 20 minutes.
Next up
West Virginia welcomes Rhode Island at 2 p.m. Sunday. URI improved to 5-2 with Wednesday’s 73-64 win over Manhattan. Last season, the Rams defeated the Mountaineers in the Hall of Fame Showcase, 83-70.
“They embarrassed us a year ago,” Huggins said. “They rubbed it in. That, to me, is a game we should be looking forward to.”