Shanna Rose | WV Sports Chat
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Brenen Lorient poured in a career-high 26 points and grabbed seven rebounds as West Virginia cruised past Lehigh, 69–47, on Sunday afternoon at the Hope Coliseum.
“He was extremely efficient,” Mountaineers head coach Ross Hodge said. “When he is shooting the 3 well like he did today, that adds a completely different dimension to his game and to our game. Honor (Huff) and Trey (Eaglestaff) are going to get so much attention from the 3-point line, that opens up space for other players. If you add him to the mix, it can be really challenging.”
Harlan Obioha added 12 points and eight rebounds for WVU (3–0).
The Mountaineers controlled the boards with a 38–25 rebounding advantage and forced 16 turnovers, though WVU gave the ball away 13 times.
The victory marked the 26th straight game in which a Hodge-coached team has held its opponent under 70 points, a streak that began last season at North Texas.
“I thought the first 15 minutes of the game were as good of a defensive stretch as we’ve had since we’ve been playing together,” Hodge said. “Our activity level was really high. We got deflections that led to simple plays on offense. I thought we had a good flow and everybody was involved. The ball was moving, and it was finding the right player on each possession.”
Freshman guard Andrew Urpscevic led the Mountain Hawks (1–2) with 16 points, while Joshua Ingram added 12.
WVU set the tone early with a 22–5 run and never looked back. Jasper Floyd knocked down a jumper with 11:03 left in the first half to make it 25–7, and seconds later Lorient buried a 3-pointer to stretch the lead to 28–7.
The Mountaineers carried a 42–20 lead into halftime, but Lehigh responded with energy after the break. Ingram opened the second half with a 3-pointer, and his fast-break dunk trimmed the margin to 49–33.
“We didn’t play as well early in the second half as we would have liked, but you’ve got to give the other team and the other coaches credit,” Hodge said. “It’s easy to always point at what you didn’t do or did do, but sometimes you’ve got to tip your hat to the other team.”
Eleven different players saw the court today for WVU.
The Mountaineers shot 47 percent from the field, 37 percent from 3-point range and made 16-of-25 from the free throw line.
Lehigh shot 35 percent from the floor, 33 percent from beyond the arc and 73 percent from the charity stripe.
WVU hosts Pitt on Thursday in the Backyard Brawl at 6 p.m. (ET).
Photo Credit: Dale Sparks- All Pro Photography- WVU Athletics
