West Virginia opens 2024-2025 campaign with exhibition win over Charleston

There were a lot of firsts for West Virginia men’s basketball as they hosted the University of Charleston (DII) in an exhibition on Friday night.

It was the first time head coach Darian DeVries took the floor as the head of the Mountaineers and the first time everyone on his roster except one player wore a WVU uniform.

It would be an easy first test for DeVries and company, as the Mountaineers never trailed and eventually won 94-61 over the Golden Eagles at the WVU Coliseum.

West Virginia got off to a hot start, with Javon Small knocking down an early three, followed by Tucker DeVries finishing a fastbreak dunk off a steal as WVU led 5-0 within the first 90 seconds of the game. That trend continued as the Mountaineers led 7-3 early before they went on a 10-0 run, putting their lead at 17-3 with 4:41 to play.

Small led WVU in scoring in the first half as he was the only Mountaineer to reach double-digits, scoring 11 points in the opening 20 minutes. Small finished the night with 11 points, on 4-for-8 shooting from the field, only playing five minutes in the second half.

Small’s hot start was contagious to the rest of the Mountaineers as they shot the ball well in the first half.

West Virginia went into the locker room with a 50-29 lead, making seven three-pointers in the opening half while holding Charleston to just 34.5 percent shooting from the field.

After leading by 21 at the break, the second half started with more of the same from the Mountaineers.

DeVries and Amani Hansberry combined to score the first eight points of the half, with West Virginia’s lead increasing to 23 points within the first four minutes of the half. Sencire Harris scored five points within 20 seconds, as WVU led 62-37 with 15:20 remaining.

West Virginia got to its largest lead of the night with an offensive rebound from Toby Okani before he put it back for a layup, followed by an easy steal and dunk from Joseph Yesufu, which put WVU in front, 67-42, a sequence that included an off with 11:29 to play.

It would be smooth sailing the rest of the way for West Virginia, as they outscored Charleston, 44-32 in the second half, shooting 42 percent from three in the final 20 minutes.

Four players reached double-digits in scoring for West Virginia, including Small, DeVries, Hansberry, and Jonathan Powell.

WVU’s hot start from beyond the arc cooled off in the second half as they made only four of their 17 three-pointers. West Virginia owned the turnover margin, forcing 22 total turnovers while only turning it over seven times. Charleston’s 22 turnovers led to 36 points for the Mountaineers.

On the night, CJ Merideth led Charleston in scoring with 13 points.

West Virginia finished the night shooting 47 percent from the field and 33 percent from three, with DeVriesleading the Mountaineers with 18 points.

West Virginia officially kicks things off when they host Robert Morris on Nov. 4 to officially begin their 2024-2025 campaign.