MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia ran off 13 unanswered points to gain an 11-point lead early into Wednesday’s exhibition against Wheeling University at Hope Coliseum.
Over the remaining 15-plus minutes of the first half, the Mountain East Conference program settled in and was outscored by only six points.
But WVU wore on the Cardinals as the contest progressed and the home team had its way throughout the second half, as the Mountaineers shot 23 for 32 from the field to turn a 17-point halftime advantage into a 98-55 victory.
“Our defensive activity on the ball got better,” WVU head coach Ross Hodge said. “We started guarding the ball better and put them in tough positions. They challenged us in some unique ways early to start the game. We haven’t played against a true five-out team.”
It was West Virginia’s third and final exhibition ahead of Monday’s season opener against Niagara. The Mountaineers first played at Maryland, where second-half struggles led to an overtime loss. Last Friday, WVU played at another MEC program in Glenville State and won, 103-66.
“There’s a lot you don’t know and unfortunately you will not know until you get out there and play in real games and situations,” Hodge said. “That’s not unique to us.”
Guard Joson Sanon missed the matchup with the Pioneers after suffering a deep thigh bruise against the Terrapins. Sanon returned to action against Wheeling in a reserve role and ignited the early 13-0 spurt by making three 3-pointers on as many attempts in a stretch of 1:13.
“It felt great, because I started off a little slow versus Maryland,” Sanon said. “I felt like coming into this game, I had to prove myself a bit.”
The last of Sanon’s triples left WVU with a 15-4 lead, and the proficient perimeter shooting continued for WVU soon after with a trey from both Miles Sadler and Martin Somerville.
Wheeling got a triple in response from 6-foot-10 Kwynsie Pittsnogle, son of former WVU standout Kevin Pittsnogle, who was seated a few rows up along the baseline.
After making 10-of-16 shots to start the outing, WVU went cold for much of what remained of the first half and entered the intermission shooting 14 for 32 and leading 45-28.
Sanon’s nine points were a team high at the break, while Sadler and Finley Bizjack had scored eight and seven, respectively.
The Cardinals were 11 for 26 from the field through 20 minutes and more than half of their attempts (14) were from long range.
The Mountaineers ran off six straight points to start the second half, and they later scored 10 unanswered over 2:19 to turn a 20-point advantage into a 67-37 lead. The 10-0 run featured two close-range buckets from Mouhamed Sylla sandwiched around a Sadler three, before Bizjack connected from beyond the arc with 10:39 remaining.
“Against Glenville State and Maryland, we didn’t come out strong in the second half,” Bizjack said. “Today, we had a good response in the second half. Our offensive flow got better, too.”
Pittsnogle countered with a triple, but WVU followed with 16 straight points to make it a prolonged 26-3 run for an 83-40 lead with 5:29 left.
The Mountaineers finished 37 for 64 from the field and made 10 of 27 from long range.
Sadler posted game-high totals of 15 points and six assists.
“He’s made better rim decisions,” Hodge said. “He’s so fast and can get wherever he wants to get. It’s just a continued progression of learning how to harness that and use it to change pace and speeds.”
Bizjack added 14 points and Sylla, Sanon and freshman guard Keyonte Greybear poured in 11 apiece.
“A lot of capable players and different players you can play depending on who you’re playing against,” Hodge said. “It’ll be somebody different each night with this group.”
Levon Jacobs was Wheeling’s lone player in double figures with 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting, including 3 for 4 on 3s.
WVU finished with a 43-21 rebounding advantage, including 12-4 on the offensive end.