Shanna Rose | WV Sports Chat
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Honor Huff scored 24 points as West Virginia topped UCF 77-62 on Senior Night on Friday at the Hope Coliseum.
Six seniors — Huff, Treysen Eaglestaff, Harlan Obioha, Brenen Lorient, Jasper Floyd and Chance Moore — left it all on the floor in front of Mountaineer fans who followed the team through an up-and-down season.
WVU took the lead out of the gate and never backed down. With 16:39 left in the first half, the Mountaineers took a 7-6 lead on Lorient’s second chance jumper and never relinquished it.
Huff set the tone early, knocking down two 3-pointers in the opening eight minutes as WVU built an 18-10 lead. Floyd and Obioha followed with back-to-back layups to cap a 9-0 run, pushing the Mountaineers’ advantage to 12.
The Knights hung around late in the half, cutting the deficit to single digits when Jordan Burks scored on a layup with one second remaining to make it 32-23 at the break.
WVU continued to control the tempo in the second half. UCF trimmed the lead to four when Themus Fulks converted a layup with just over 12 minutes to play, but the Mountaineers quickly responded.
Huff was fouled beyond the arc and calmly knocked down all three free throws before hitting a 3-pointer moments later. Chance Moore followed with a three-point play to cap a 9-1 run that helped WVU regain momentum and pull away for good.
Huff finished 4-of-14 from beyond the arc and was perfect at the free throw line, going 10-for-10. His four made 3-pointers pushed his career total to 398, leaving him just 12 shy of cracking the NCAA’s top 25 all-time list.
Lorient added 14 points while missing just one shot, Moore finished with 13 points off the bench, and Floyd chipped in 10.
The Mountaineers held the Knights to 38.1 percent shooting and limited a UCF team that entered the night averaging 83 points per game to just 62.
Fulks and Riley Kugel led the Knights with 16 points each, while Burks added 14 points and nine rebounds.
WVU led for all but 26 seconds of the contest and pushed their lead to as many as 17 in the final minute.
With the win, the Mountaineers improved to 18-13 overall and 9-9 in Big 12 play while completing a season sweep of UCF.
It also guarantees WVU a first-round bye in next week’s Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City after being picked to finish 11th in the preseason poll.
“I just told the group that I’m incredibly thankful for them and super-happy for them and their parents tonight,” Mountaineer head coach Ross Hodge said. “They’ll never forget Senior Night winning and singing (Take Me Home) Country Roads together in an incredible environment.”
WVU has now won 11 of its last 13 Senior Day games and five of the last six meetings with the Knights.
“When I’ve talked to (his team) the last couple of days, for them to have things go really negative – whether that’s in a game or for an entire game – and then to still have the resolve and the resiliency to scrape themselves off the mat, stay together and stay the course and not blame anybody but just say, ‘We’ve got to do better …’ you can be hurt, and it should hurt, but you can’t wallow in self-pity.”
The Mountaineers head to Kansas City for the Big 12 Tournament at T-Mobile Center next week.
Photo credit: WVU Athletics
