Shanna Rose | WV Sports Chat
TEMPE, Ariz. — West Virginia overcame a 13-point first-half deficit to earn its first Big 12 road win of the season, rallying past Arizona State 75-63 on Wednesday night at Desert Financial Arena.
Treysen Eaglestaff led the Mountaineers with 23 points, hitting six of his nine 3-point attempts and scoring 14 in the first half when WVU’s offense was struggling. The senior guard has reached double figures in four of his last five games and matched his season-high after a 22-point performance against Colorado last Saturday.
“He’s getting comfortable now and he realizes we need him to be aggressive, and we need his shot making,” Mountaineer head coach Ross Hodge said. “He really bailed us in the first half, especially during that stretch when he kind of willed us back into the game.”
WVU found its rhythm in the second half, outscoring the Sun Devils 40-26 over the final 20 minutes. Brenen Lorient added 15 points, 11 coming after halftime, including a pivotal 3-pointer to put the Mountaineers ahead 48-46. Jasper Floyd contributed 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals, and Chance Moore helped fuel an 8-0 run in just over a minute that gave WVU a 53-46 lead.
Arizona State (10-9, 1-5) battled back at times, closing to 53-51 on a three-point play by Anthony Johnson, but the Mountaineers answered with a 3 and layup from Floyd, then a 3-pointer and an and-one by Eaglestaff to stretch the lead to double digits. Maurice Odum led the Sun Devils with 17 points, Massamba Diop scored 14, and Noah Meeusen added 11.
WVU shot 50.9 percent from the field for the game, including 56.3 percent in the second half. The Mountaineers connected on 11 3-pointers overall.
Arizona State was limited to 38.5 percent shooting in the second half, missed all five of its second-half 3-point attempts, and went 10-for-18 from the free-throw line.
“To come out and hold a good offensive team on their home floor to 38 percent in the second half, 0-5 from 3, one shot and one shot only, and you leverage it on the other end with efficiency and taking what they give (was the result) of a lot of contributions from a lot of people,” Hodge said.
The Mountaineers (13-6, 4-2 Big 12) have now won four of its last five games, tying ninth-ranked Iowa State and 19th-ranked Kansas in a three-way tie for fifth place in the conference.
WVU remains in Arizona to face No. 1 Arizona on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Tucson, with the game airing on CBS.
Photo Credit: WVU Athletics
