Defense Lifts Mountaineers Over Boston

Despite a poor shooting night, the Mountaineers use its size in the paint to overpower Boston.

Christopher Hall - Sports Illustrated: Mountaineer Maven

In the final campus game of the Cancun Challenge, West Virginia's suffocating defense proved too much for the visiting Boston Terriers (3-3, 0-0) as the Mountaineers (4-0, 0-0) cruised to a 69-44 win.

West Virginia recorded a season-high 13 steals, including a total of 22 turnovers. Forward Oscar Tshiebwe led the Mountaineers in takeaways with four while also tallying two blocks.

West Virginia endured through its worst shooting performance beyond the arc of the young season, converting on only 11% (2-18) of its three-point attempts, but the Mountaineers' obvious size advantage in the paint provided enough offense to guide West Virginia to its largest victory of the year.

Tshiebwe led all scorers with a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds, recording his second double-double of the season. Sophomore forward Derek Culver chipped in 10 points and four rebounds. Senior guard Jermaine Haley added 13 points, three rebounds and two steals.  

After an early 11-0 run to start the game, the Mountaineers allowed the Terriers within nine with 5:46 remaining in the first half before ballooning its lead to 13 at the break. A 10-0 run by West Virginia to open the second half put the game out reach.

The Mountaineers take on Northern Iowa in Cancun, Mexico November 26 at 8:30 pm Eastern on CBS Sports Network.