CINCINNATI — Mired in a three-game losing streak, West Virginia was left searching for answers during a three-day lead-up to Sunday’s matchup with Cincinnati at Fifth Third Arena.
The Mountaineers found what they were looking for at both ends and put together a dominant performance to hand the Bearcats their fourth straight loss, 63-50.
“Both of us having been going through a tough stretch. Both teams knew it was an important game and both came out and competed,” WVU head coach Darian DeVries said. “We made some opportunities tonight that we hadn’t maybe converted on recently and guys were able to knock down some shots. That was a big factor, at least from our end, that we were able to make some shots and open up our offense a little bit.”
Deficits of 3-2 and 6-5 were the only ones West Virginia (14-7, 5-5) faced.
Efficient perimeter shooting and an 18-4 edge in paint points over the first 20 minutes allowed the Mountaineers to control the contest and earn a third victory in five Big 12 road games.
“It wasn’t one specific thing,” UC head coach Wes Miller said of his team’s minus-14 paint point difference through one half. “A couple in transition, a couple we don’t defensive rebound with the ball bouncing around. Those are the plays that we were challenging the team in timeouts the most.”
Held to a season-low eight points in the previous outing against Houston, West Virginia guard Javon Small was back to playing like a Big 12 Player of the Year candidate and posted game-high totals of 19 points and nine assists.
“He’s a terrific player and they do a lot of neat things to put him in action,” Miller said.
Fellow Mountaineer guard Joseph Yesufu was also vital to the outcome and scored 16 points on 6-for-6 shooting.
“Joe gave us a huge spark and that other scorer that we haven’t had as consistent the last few games,” DeVries said.
A three-pointer from freshman Jonathan Powell broke an 11-all tie and put the visitors on top for good as it marked the start of an 8-0 spurt that also included Amani Hansberry’s follow-up bucket and a Small triple.
Yesufu connected from long range moments later, and when Small split two free throws 8:59 before halftime, it made it a double-digit margin (23-13) for the first time.
For as beneficial as perimeter shooting was to WVU, the Mountaineers also had a major advantage near the basket in the opening half.
Starting with Powell’s layup off a turnover, West Virginia made seven buckets in the paint in a stretch of less than 7 minutes, and it ended with Hansberry’s layup at the 1:19 mark for a 37-21 advantage.
“A lot of that was coming off of some of our curl actions and ball screens where we were able to get downhill a little bit and get the rollers on the back side,” DeVries said. “The guards did a nice job of reading it and making the plays for our bigs to finish down there.”
After UC (12-9, 2-8) clawed back to within a dozen, Yesufu drained a three with time winding down in the opening half, allowing the Mountaineers to lead 40-25 at the break.
“It was a huge shot,” Yesufu said. “I feel like it got us going.”
Miller viewed the play in a similar fashion.
“The one at the end of the half was significant,” he said.
The Mountaineers misfired on their first four field-goal attempts of the second half, but when Small made a triple with 16:04 to play, WVU had expanded its halftime lead to 43-27.
The Bearcats were back to within 12 with 15:29 left following a Dillon Mitchell dunk, but the Mountaineers dominated the next 7-plus minutes.
After Yesufu scored in the paint for a 51-35 lead, Powell came up with a steal and threw down a transition dunk.
That led to Miller calling timeout, but did little to quell the Mountaineers’ momentum as Yesufu made threes on successive possessions for a 59-37 lead — WVU’s largest advantage of the matchup.
“Joe came in and gave us an extra spark and another offensive player that can put the ball in the basket,” Small said. “He made some really tough shots down the stretch and especially going into halftime. Joe’s a really good player and does whatever the team needs him to do. Today, we needed him to put the ball in the basket and that’s what he did.“
The Mountaineers scored only four points over the final 7 minutes and the Bearcats pulled to within 61-50 on a Rayvon Griffith three with 3:25 to play, but that marked the final points of their eighth setback over the last 10 games.
Hansberry contributed eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while Toby Okani also scored eight in the win and Powell added seven.
“Overall, it was a great team effort,” DeVries said.
West Virginia finished with 30 paint points and made 9-of-18 triples.
UC made 17-of-54 shots.
Day Day Thomas scored 10 points and was the only Bearcat in double figures.
“I’m very disappointed and disgusted with the way we’re playing. At the end of the day, I’m the leader of this program and it falls on me,” Miller said. “If I’m somebody that supports this program, I’d be frustrated. I’d be pissed at what I was watching. You should be. I am, too. I take full responsibility. It’s on me. We have a lot of basketball left to play and we need to figure out a way to play a style and a level of basketball that makes people proud about the way that we wear the jersey.”