Shanna Rose | WV Sports Chat
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Freshman DJ Thomas and senior Honor Huff combined for 49 points as West Virginia rolled past Lafayette 81–59 on Monday night at Hope Coliseum.
Thomas came off the bench to score a career-high 25 points, sparking a sluggish WVU offense early in the first half. Huff delivered one of the most efficient shooting nights of his career, knocking down 8 of 9 attempts from beyond the arc for 24 points. Brenen Lorient and Amir Jenkins added nine points apiece for the Mountaineers (5–0).
“I thought DJ did a great job of just being a recipient of them double-teaming and getting in pockets,” WVU head coach Ross Hodge said. “(Brenen Lorient) played a great floor game with four assists and one turnover, and Harlan (Obioha) had two assists. A lot of those were just DJ finding those open crevasses. For us, 19 assists on 29 baskets is incredible.”
Andre Phillips led the Leopards (1–4) with 19 points and Caleb Williams finished with 16.
WVU forced 19 turnovers, scored 38 points in the paint and outrebounded Lafayette 36–25.
The Mountaineers got off to a slow start and led only 8–5 at the first media timeout. Thomas entered shortly after and immediately provided a spark. With the game tied 13–13, he scored seven straight points to push WVU ahead 20–13.
Momentum followed. Morris Ugusuk buried a 3-pointer before Thomas and Obioha added back-to-back layups. Huff then heated up from distance, hitting a flurry of 3s to send the Mountaineers into halftime with a 36–25 lead.
Huff stayed hot in the second half, hitting his eighth and final 3-pointer at the 11:25 mark. Jenkins extended the lead to 22 with a jumper at 10:02 before Lafayette responded with an 7-0 run to make it 60–45 with 7:31 remaining.
Still, WVU never allowed the Leopards to threaten.
The 59 points allowed marked the 27th straight game a Ross Hodge-coached team has held an opponent under 70, a streak that dates back to last season at North Texas.
“I thought our defensive intensity was pretty good for the most part, particularly in the first half,” Hodge said. “We had some busted plays where they hit late shot-clock shots, but overall I thought we defended well.”
The Mountaineers hit the road Friday to face Clemson in Charleston, S.C., in the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. ET.
Photo Credit: Dale Sparks- All Pro Photography- WVU Athletics
