MORGANTOWN — The 3-point drought is over for Sencire Harris, not that the WVU guard was too worried that it wouldn’t end at some point.
“You can ask the guys, I’ve been putting in the work,” Harris said after going 2 for 5 from deep in Saturday’s 69-50 victory against Oklahoma State. “I’ve been making them in practice.”
Yet until Saturday, the Illinois transfer had yet to make one in a game, spreading out 26 misses over the first 12 games.
He threw up two more 3-point misses against the Cowboys, before finally draining one with 6:57 left in the first half that gave the Mountaineers (11-2, 2-0 Big 12) a 30-7 advantage.
“Throughout the summer, he shot 35% from three, so I think it was just one of those things where he got off to a slow start,” WVU head coach Darian DeVries said. “It started to get into his head a little bit. Sometimes you just need to see one go in in a game, and now he can go back to just relaxing and playing.”
Harris finished with nine points and added five rebounds and three steals.
“In the games, I was struggling,” Harris said. “To see one go in, I can be more relaxed.”
Javon Small, rebounder
For a second consecutive game, WVU point guard Javon Small led the Mountaineers with 11 rebounds.
That is not generally a stat a point guard is supposed to be strong in.
“I don’t care who gets them, as long as we get them,” DeVries said with a smile.
The 11 boards led to Small’s second double-double of the season, and his 24 points was the sixth time he’s surpassed 20 points in a game this season.
“I feel like I’m a pretty athletic guard,” Small said. “If there’s a ball up there, and if I have a good chance of getting it, I feel like I’m athletic enough to get it.”
No let down
Coming off that 62-61 historic win on Tuesday at No. 7 Kansas, DeVries and his players said they were quickly turning the page and focusing on Oklahoma State.
With the OSU game officially in the books, DeVries was asked if he secretly was worried about a letdown.
“I worry every game,” he joked. “I’m not great at looking at any opponent and saying, ‘Oh, we’ll win this one.’ Again, you come off a game like that, people were excited about it and rightfully so. I felt good about this group, though. They practiced well. I didn’t feel (a letdown) in them at all.”
Notes
** WVU is 2-0 in Big 12 play for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
** WVU center Amani Hansberry returned from his ankle injury and played 14 minutes against Oklahoma State. He finished with six points, three rebounds and three assists.
“It was good to get him out there,” DeVries said. “He hasn’t been able to practice much, so we had to limit his minutes a bit. I thought he did a nice job under the circumstances. He made a couple of baskets in the second half. Hopefully that will continue to get better for him.”
** WVU finished with 40 rebounds, the fourth time this season the Mountaineers reached at least 40 in a game.
** For a second consecutive game, WVU never trailed.
