Shanna Rose | WV Sports Chat
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Honor Huff scored 24 points behind eight 3-pointers, and Treysen Eaglestaff added 23 for West Virginia in a 90-58 win over Little Rock on Tuesday night.
The Mountaineers (8-2) pulled away with a decisive 19-2 run that stretched nearly six minutes, part of an offensive showing where WVU shot 56 percent from the field and an even 50 percent from three.
Huff became the nation’s leader in made 3-pointers in the second half, finishing 8 of 13 from the floor and 8 of 11 from deep — just one shy of Alex Ruoff’s school record. Eaglestaff, who had been searching for his shooting rhythm early this season, found it in a big way by hitting 5 of 10 from long range.
“I thought he got good looks,” Mountaineer head coach Ross Hodge said. “He was aggressive and I thought he was the recipient of some crisp passing and good ball movement and was ready to shoot. We’ve been on him about that to be ready when the ball comes to you to shoot it.”
The Trojans (2-8), playing with only eight available players, were led by Cameron Wallace’s 23 points while Jonathan Lawson added 11.
WVU opened strong when Eaglestaff buried a corner three on the first possession. After Little Rock briefly cut the lead to 3-2, the Mountaineers found early separation through Harlan Obioha’s free throws and a dunk through contact. Freshman Amir Jenkins delivered back-to-back tough buckets — a contested mid-range jumper and an and-one layup — fueling a 13-2 burst and a 20-6 cushion.
Momentum stayed with the Mountaineers when senior forward Brenen Lorient hammered home a driving dunk, setting up Huff’s personal fireworks show. The senior guard drilled three straight triples during an 11-2 surge that ballooned the lead to 33-11. WVU kept its foot down as Eaglestaff hit two more threes late in the half, pushing the margin to 47-23 at the break.
Little Rock struck first out of halftime before the Mountaineers answered with a 9-2 run, including five quick points from Eaglestaff. The Trojans briefly swung back with a 10-2 spurt of their own, but WVU countered with a 9-0 run, seven of those points coming from Eaglestaff.
Huff pushed the lead to a game-high 40 when he splashed another three at the 4:26 mark, capping a 19-1 stretch. Little Rock’s Truman Claytor IV ended a six-plus minute field-goal drought with a three, but the Trojans never threatened late.
“I thought our willingness to make the simple play and pass the ball to the open man, even maybe overpassing a little bit, but I thought the group did a good job of moving the ball and sharing the ball,” Hodge said.
WVU finished with 13 made threes between Huff and Eaglestaff, who went a combined 13-of-21 from deep and accounted for 47 points. The Mountaineers also scored on 62.3 percent of their 61 possessions while getting 12 points off the bench from Chance Moore. Eleven different players scored.
The win also marked Hodge’s 200th career victory, after eight seasons at North Texas before taking over the Mountaineers this offseason.
WVU heads to Cleveland for the Cleveland Hoops Shootout, facing Ohio State on Dec. 13.
Photo credit: Dale Sparks- All Pro Photography- WVU Athletics
