West Virginia looks to snap a two-game losing streak when it hosts Mercyhurst on Sunday in Morgantown, W. Va.
The Mountaineers dropped both games in the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic, 70-67 last Friday to Clemson and the latest setback a 78-68 loss to Xavier last Sunday.
Treyson Eaglestaff led the Mountaineers (5-2) with 20 points against the Musketeers, Honor Huff had 16 points and Brenen Lorient chipped in 11 points. West Virginia shot 43% from the field and hit just 6 of 22 of its 3-point attempts (27.3%).
Because they had a week off, West Virginia coach Ross Hodge said he hoped the Mountaineers spent the week in the gym getting up shots.
“We’ve just got to keep working, keep improving and take ownership of it,” Hodge said. “You can’t hide from it. You’ve got to take accountability. These guys want to make shots. They don’t always want to block out or defend a (high) level. But I am a firm believer that when people shoot it they want it to go in the hole. They just have to keep working.”
West Virginia outrebounded Xavier 33-31, and Hodge wants that to continue that by featuring more aggressiveness on the glass.
“Physicality isn’t always due to a height discrepancy,” Hodge said. “It’s a mindset.”
Mercyhurst (3-4) also will look to snap a two-game skid. Its latest loss came last Sunday when it dropped a 69-60 contest at Marshall. Jake Lemelman led the Lakers with a career-high 21 points, while Qadir Martin, Bernie Blunt III and Deshaun Jackson Jr all tallied 10 points.
While the Lakers had 10 steals, they only hit 3 of 16 attempts from 3-point range. After having a senior laden roster last season, the Lakers are adjusting as returning players blend with transfer-portal additions.
“This year, the returning guys have only been here for a year, so we’re going to have to rely on these guys learning quickly,” Mercyhurst coach Gary Manchel said. “We’ve got seven or eight new guys that will hopefully step up.”
