The men’s basketball team dropped its Monday night matchup against West Virginia University, falling 81-59 in a messy outing on both ends.
West Virginia (5-0 overall) gave the Leopards (1-4 overall) fits from the three-point line. Mountaineers senior guard Honor Huff, who finished fourth in three-pointers made per game in the NCAA last season, put up an astonishing 8-of-9 performance from downtown.
“We was trying, we was trying, we was trying, we just couldn’t do nothing with him today,” sophomore guard Caleb Williams said. “He was flying off a lot of ball screens. He’s quick and fast. He’s a good shooter.”
Despite the defensive struggles, Williams called junior guard Mark Butler and senior guard Ryan Pettit “two of the best on-ball defenders in the Patriot League,” and felt comfortable with the game plan.
“We trust them to take that matchup and tonight, of course, he got off, but it doesn’t matter,” Williams said. “Next game, we still trust the match to really play defense and contain the next star guy we play.”
The two squads traded blows early in the game, tied 13-13 midway through the first half, but the Mountaineers slowly took momentum. Huff’s fifth three-pointer of the contest — a deep, contested moonshot as he faded to his left — capped off a 23-12 West Virginia scoring run to close out the half.
Freshman forward Christian Humphrey-Rembert knocked down a catch-and-shoot three-ball from the right corner to open the second half scoring for the Leopards, but then it was all Mountaineers, including another pair of three-pointers from Huff to make it a 52-31 affair.
“I think their physicality bumped us out a little bit,” junior guard Andrew Phillips said. “We try to focus on just our team, play as hard as we can.”
Phillips responded with a three-pointer of his own, one of three in his 19-point outing, before Williams connected on back-to-back shots from way downtown, letting it fly from well beyond the three-point arc.
“My teammates trust me to shoot that shot, and they know I’m gonna make it,” Williams said. “I have all the confidence in the world to make that shot.”
Williams and Phillips continued to throw jabs for the visitors, but the Maroon and White could not quite change the pace, never cutting the second half to single digits, and falling 81-59. The two guards combined for 7-of-14 from three-point range as part of the Leopards’ 10-of-22 downtown shooting.
“Having faith in my teammates and my teammates’ faith in me catching and shooting,” Phillips said.
Although the Leopards shot well, they struggled with maintaining possession, posting 19 turnovers in the contest that led to 20 points for the Mountaineers.
“I really take ownership in the turnovers,” Williams said, finishing with four of his own. “I gotta be better. I gotta be more patient. I gotta be more poised, especially. It starts with the guards.”
“We just gotta be better with controlling the offense,” he continued.
The Leopards return to action Friday night to take on Stonehill College (1-5 overall) on the road.