MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — West Virginia’s defensive pressure made all the difference in its 115-50 victory Friday against CC Basketball Academy at Valencia, Spain.
It was the second of two exhibition games for the Mountaineers during their tour of the country. Their two wins have come by an average of 46.5 points.
After trailing, 11-9, midway through the first quarter, the Mountaineers went on a 32-0 run and kept their opponents scoreless for a 10-minute stretch that sealed the game.
Derek Culver and Jordan McCabe both recorded double-doubles with Culver going for 12 points and 12 rebounds, while McCabe finished with 14 points and 10 assists.
“I thought we played really hard,” head coach Bob Huggins said. “We’ve got a bunch of guys who can make shots. This has been a great experience for the veterans and for the new guys, but we still have a lot of work to do.”
The Mountaineers’ defensive was more about their half-court pressure and traps, which is all they needed in this one.
CC Basketball Academy also went scoreless for the first 4:30 of the third quarter and didn’t score more than 11 points in a quarter until the fourth.
The Mountaineers recorded 15 steals, giving them 31 over the first two games.
In all, WVU had eight players score in double figures and finished 12 of 33 (36 percent) from 3-point range.
The Mountaineers recorded 34 assists on their 41 made field goals.
Emmitt Matthews Jr. and Logan Routt both led the team with 15 points, while junior-college transfers Sean McNeil and Taz Sherman came off the bench to add 13 and 12.
McNeil and Sherman combined to hit six of the Mountaineers’ 12 3-pointers in the game.
“Taz came in and made some shots and started to get separation,” Huggins said. “Sean started to make some shots.”
Freshman guard Deuce McBride and senior Chase Harler both added 11 points.
Jermaine Haley had seven points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
WVU recorded 52 rebounds, with 12 coming on the offensive end.
The Mountaineers conclude their tour with an exhibition game against the Barcelona All-Stars at 2 p.m. Sunday, before returning to Morgantown on Tuesday.
“Hopefully it’s a closer game and we have to be able to run some things,” Huggins said.
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