Mountaineers bear down in second half, defeat Missouri State 67-59 to give Eilert first win – WV MetroNews

(Game highlights)

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — As much as he’d like to, Josh Eilert won’t forget his first half as a head coach.

Eilert looked on as the Mountaineers jumped out to a 15-4 lead Monday against Missouri State. Then came 21 consecutive missed field goals and a drought of 14:07 from the floor to end the opening half.

In all, the Bears took a 30-24 lead into halftime as West Virginia shot 4 for 32, while struggling to develop rhythm but still but still managing to hang around while Missouri State also had its share of struggles offensively.

“I told them there’s no way you can shoot any worse than that,” Eilert said. “I kept on thinking back to that Cincinnati game where it was like 20 percent for the game [a 62-39 loss in 2008]. We were right on track to get there. I told them they had to step up and shoot the ball with confidence.”

The Mountaineers did that over much of the final 20 minutes, making their first six shots of the second half to go in front, and they never trailed again in a 67-59 victory at the WVU Coliseum.

“The first thing that comes to mind is a tale of two halves,” Eilert said.

After shooting 0 for 7 in the opening half, West Virginia guard Seth Wilson connected on a three-pointer to open the second-half scoring. It was part of a 12-3 spurt over the opening 3:26 after halftime, with Quinn Slazinski connecting from long range to give the Mountaineers a 36-33 lead at the 16:34 mark.

“It’s almost borderline hilarious,” Slazinski said of WVU’s 12.5 percent shooting in the first half. “We came into halftime and said we’re going to set a world record for lowest field goal percentages. But it’s not going to happen in the second half. It’s law of percentages.”

Missouri State trailed 41-40 following a Chance Moore jump shot, but Wilson countered with three-pointers on consecutive possessions to give WVU a seven-point advantage with 12:47 remaining.

“We just tried to lift each other from the first guy to the last guy.” Wilson said. “We talked each other up like it’s going to fall and change. Shots will fall, especially if we play the right way and get the right looks”.

Pat Suemnick accounted for West Virginia’s next two field goals, including a layup with 8:58 to play that left the Bears with a 51-43 deficit.

Slazinski’s triple with 6:50 remaining gave the Mountaineers a nine-point advantage, and Kobe Johnson, who got the start at point guard, scored in the paint with 5:45 remaining for a 57-46 advantage to match WVU’s largest lead of the contest.

“In the first half, we didn’t really know what each other wanted to do and how to go about it,” Wilson said. “The second half, we started to trust each other and that was a difference.”

(Josh Eilert postgame press conference)

However, West Virginia went nearly 4 minutes without another field goal, and during that stretch, Moore made a pair of treys sandwiched around Tyler Bey’s dunk. 

Jesse Edwards ended WVU’s scoring drought with a bucket inside at the 2:03 mark, and after the Bears got back to within a possession on an Alston Mason jumper, Johnson scored in the paint for a 61-56 lead with 55 seconds left.

Moore countered with a three that cut the Mountaineers’ lead to two with 41 seconds left, but Slazinski stayed aggressive on the ensuing possession and made the most of his penetration by scoring inside with 30 seconds to play.

After Moore missed a three on the other end, freshman Ofri Naveh delivered a highlight-worthy touch pass to a streaking Josiah Harris, who threw down a dunk. Harris added another dunk with time winding down to provide the final margin.

West Virginia shot 18 for 31 in the second half, including 6 of 11 on threes. The Mountaineers also had 11 of their 13 assists after the intermission.

“Confidence is so big in basketball. It can make you or break you in so many ways. I’m not the type of coach that’s going to wear you down,” Eilert said. “I’m going to try to build them up as much as I can. They were trying to break off the offense and things work a heck of a lot better when everybody is on the same page and they execute the sets the way we draw them up.”

The Mountaineers built an 11-point lead in less than 6 minutes to start the game, before being held scoreless for nearly 5 minutes, during which time Missouri State scored 11 unanswered points to draw even at 15.

“Nothing was easy in that first half. We had guys breaking out of our offense,” Eilert said. “I don’t want to use the world selfish, because I think they mean well.”

Mason’s fast break layup 8:08 before halftime put the visitors in front 19-17 for their first lead since 2-1. 

Slazinski went 3 for 3 on free throws 1:44 before halftime to bring WVU to within two, but Mason countered with a triple and Matthew Lee provided the final points of the opening half on a short jumper to send Missouri State to halftime with the six-point advantage.

“First-half jitters. We couldn’t do anything,” Slazinski said.

At the break, the Bears had made 13-of-35 shots. They went on to shoot 10 for 30 in the second half.

“They had their problems scoring, too,” Eilert said. 

Neither team was plagued by turnovers as WVU finished with seven to Missouri State’s six. 

Slazinski scored 18 points and added seven rebounds, while Edwards totaled 13 points and a game-high 13 rebounds in what marked the West Virginia debut for both players. 

“No. 1 is always an important win. We showered coach in the locker room,” Edwards said. “That’s amazing and a big win. Really happy with that. Basketball wise, a lot to take away and learn from.”

The Mountaineers finished with a 46-40 rebounding advantage, including 15-11 on the offensive end.

Moore’s 24 points led all players and Mason added 15 to give Missouri State a second double-figure scorer.

Wilson scored all 11 of his points in the second half after being held scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting in the opening half.

Harris added nine points and Johnson scored eight to go with four assists and no turnovers.

WVU scored 16 points on free throws to Missouri State’s four.

“It was hard to look at that offensive production that was inadequate,” Eilert said. “I keep on saying our offense has changed and is going to be more efficient and I thought I was going to have to eat my words.”

(WVU players postgame press conference)