Shanna Rose | WV Sports Chat
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Xavier’s barrage of 3-pointers proved too much for West Virginia on Sunday, as the Musketeers knocked down 16 from long range in a 78–68 win over the Mountaineers in the third-place game of the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic at TD Arena.
The 16 made threes tied the most ever hit by a WVU opponent, a mark reached seven times, most recently by Cincinnati in last year’s Big 12 Tournament.
Xavier erased an early eight-point deficit in the first half and closed the period on a 21–5 run for a 36–28 halftime lead. The Mountaineers cut the deficit to three early in the second half and were within 66–61 on two Honor Huff free throws before the Musketeers’ sharpshooters struck again.
All Wright answered with a 3-pointer, and Filip Borovicanin’s banked-in three from the left wing with 3:36 remaining pushed Xavier back ahead by nine. Two Wright free throws later extended the lead to 13, the Musketeers’ largest of the day.
“We just allowed them to establish a comfort zone and a rhythm offensively,” WVU head coach Ross Hodge said. “We weren’t impactful enough on the defensive end of the floor and they were able to move the ball freely and find the open man.
“When they found the open man, they didn’t miss.”
Xavier finished 16 of 25 from beyond the arc, matching its season high. Five Musketeers hit at least one 3-pointer, led by Jovan Milicevic and Tre Carroll with five each. Wright added four, while Borovicanin and Roddy Anderson III each made one.
Milicevic led all scorers with 21 points and Carroll added 17. The Musketeers shot only 9 of 30 inside the arc but went a perfect 12-for-12 at the free-throw line.
“That’s what happens when you allow someone to feel comfortable,” Hodge said. “They had seen the ball go into the net so many times. We couldn’t string enough stops together consistently.”
Despite holding a 32–14 advantage in the paint and a 33–31 edge on the glass, the Mountaineers couldn’t keep pace from the perimeter. WVU finished just 6 of 22 from deep.
“We felt going into the game that we were going to have an advantage physically, but we weren’t able to establish that,” Hodge said. “We missed 33 shots and really only had three offensive rebounds.”
One bright spot for the Mountaineers came from Treysen Eaglestaff, who scored a season-high 20 points while shooting 8 of 15 after entering the game at just 24.4 percent from the field.
“He was aggressive and I thought he got downhill with his drives,” Hodge said. “He made some simple plays.”
Treysen Eaglestaff finished with 20 points. Honor Huff scored all 16 of his points in the second half, and Brenen Lorient added 11 for WVU.
The Mountaineers will have seven days off before returning home to face Mercyhurst next Sunday at Hope Coliseum.
Photo Credit: WVU Athletics
