Miles McBride has stellar freshman debut as West Virginia downs Akron in opener

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — In recruiting circles, Miles McBride was known simply as the “other” freshman, next to McDonald’s All-American Oscar Tshiebwe in the Mountaineers’ recruiting class.

Yet, in West Virginia’s season-opening 94-84 victory Friday in front of 12,513 fans inside the WVU Coliseum, McBride was more like “the” freshman.

“I just wanted to come out and perform to the best of my abilities,” he said. “It’s a different feeling when a whole state is behind you. I just wanted to make the whole state proud.”

McBride, nicknamed “Deuce”, may have done just that after a solid 11-point effort that also saw the kid from Cincinnati register six rebounds, four assists and four steals.

“He’s so much more than just the other freshman,” WVU guard Chase Harler said. “It’s easy to understand how Oscar gets most of the attention, but people are going to know Deuce before his career is over. He doesn’t act or play like a freshman.”

BOX SCORE

Meanwhile, Tshiebwe’s regular-season debut was cut short, courtesy of three fouls called on him in the first half and two missed jumpers from the foul line that WVU head coach Bob Huggins wasn’t exactly thrilled that he took.

Tshiebwe played just under 12 minutes and finished with five points and five rebounds.

“I think he’ll learn as he continues to grow is that you can’t take plays off,” Huggins said. “You get taken advantage of and then you end up in a situation where you get a foul that you shouldn’t have got.

“And then you can’t do things you’re not very good at doing. If you want to do those things, get in the gym. If you want to shoot those shots, get in the gym and shoot 1,000 shots a day.”

Meanwhile, McBride, minus one bad pass late in the second half when Akron trapped him under full-court pressure, was mostly cool, calm and collected.

For most of the second half, McBride was the point guard, as Huggins was displeased with Jordan’s McCabe’s effort.

He responded with three assists and two steals over the final 17 minutes and went 6 for 6 from the foul line over the final 3:15 to help seal the game.

“When times get rough in a game, you’ve just got to keep going,” said McBride, who was just a 3-star recruit coming out of Cincinnati Moeller, which finished a perfect 29-0 record with an Ohio Division I state title in McBride’s senior season. “I started getting some minutes over the summer and played some good minutes in our exhibition games. I just have to continue to be ready to play.”

The game was a matter of spurts in the first half for the Mountaineers (1-0), who improved to 10-3 all-time in season-openers under Huggins.

WVU erased an early 8-2 deficit to take a 47-31 lead at the break, behind Emmitt Matthews, who knocked down three 3-pointers — one that came from at least 25-feet out — in a span of three minutes that gave the Mountaineers their first lead.

Matthews finished with 13 points, but went quiet the rest of the first half, which opened the door for Derek Culver and McBride.

Culver got summoned to the bench early after not hustling back on defense, but then got it going over the final six minutes of the half.

He connected on a short jump hook for an and-one three-point play and then found teammate Jermaine Haley on a nice give-and-go bucket that pushed the Mountaineers’ lead up to 13 points.

Culver, who finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, finished the half with a power move in the paint and then sinking two free throws on the next possession after getting fouled making another move near the rim.

In between, McBride, who also doubled as Moeller’s star quarterback in high school, had some solid moments with two drives to the rim before pulling up and connecting on a foul-line jumper.

It all led to a performance that may have many taking a better look at both of the Mountaineers’ freshmen this season.

“We recruited him early and he’s a loyal kid and we recruited him when he had a broken ankle,” Huggins said of why McBride may have went under recruited. “He committed to us with a broken ankle. He makes plays. You can see why he was a multi-sport athlete.”

Haley also added 16 points after spending most of the week recovering from a sore back. Chase Harler and Brandon Knapper both had nine.

Akron (1-1) was led by Xeyrius Williams’ 20 points and teammate Camron Rice added 10 rebounds.

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