Morgantown, WV- The West Virginia Mountaineers (1-0) pounded the Niagara Purple Eagles (0-1) Monday night 91-46.
Six Mountaineers hit double figures with freshman point guard Miles Sadler leading all scorers with 16 points, while fifth year forward Brenen Lorient picked up where he left off last season, scoring 13 points and securing five rebounds for his 16th consecutive double figure performance, and junior guard Martin Somerville put in 12 points behind 3-4 shooting from behind the arc.
Here are my initial thoughts on the Mountaineers' lopsided win.
West Virginia shot a mere 2-8 to begin the game while the Purple Eagles came out hot, shooting 5-7 from the field, including 3-5 from three-point range to hold a 13-5 advantage into the media timeout.
The Purple Eagles buried a three out of the media timeout before West Virginia started to find its rhythm on offense and went on a 21-0 run.
Sadler was phenomenal during the stretch, attacking the lane, showcasing his ball handling, and finished around the rim.
Seven Mountaineers accounted for at least one three on the night. Lorient, Somervile and Joson Sanon all had three, threes apiece. This group is deadly from outside and it was evident Monday night.
With the depth of this team, I'm not surprised Ross Hodge is working on full court pressure in the first game of the season. Trapping the ball on the initial thrown in with the quick hands of the guards caused problems for Niagara and sped up an offense that was efficient in the opening minutes of the game.
After the initial run from Niagara, they shot 13-37 from the field, including a mere 7-22 from the floor in the second half.
Without a doubt this group will have to improve defensively, but it's a good start for a bunch of newcomers to the program.
It's hard not to feature the freshman's debut after he became one of the most highly touted players to ever sign with West Virginia.
He had his freshman moments, but he was poised leading the Mountaineers on the offensive end of he floor. He was dynamic on the offensive end, whether driving the lane or his step back three. He was only 1-6 from the three, but I attribute some of it, trying to do too much.
Still some work to do defensively, but that's expected.
The numbers are better from a year ago, but 36-24 isn't exactly dominating the glass. However, they did hold the Purple Eagles to zero offensive rebounds.
The Mountaineers will not have a true test on the boards till the first game of the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas, but they have improved since the first exhibition game against Maryland. The numbers are there, just not the quality opponent.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/westvirginia as Instant Reactions to West Virginia's Season Opening Win Over Niagara .
