American Eagles vs West Virginia Mountaineers Box Score on Nov 15, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Nov 15, 2017

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- West Virginia found a sure way to improve morale: Hosting an opponent who hasn't beaten a Top 25 team in 35 seasons.

Point guard Jevon Carter delivered 20 points, nine steals, seven rebounds and seven assists as the No. 24 Mountaineers overwhelmed American 98-64 on Wednesday night.

Daxter Miles also scored 20 and Beetle Bolden had 16 for West Virginia (1-1), which was returning to action after last week's 23-point loss to Texas A&M in Germany. Freshman Teddy Allen scored 14 points and Lamont West finished with 12 in the romp that saw the Mountaineers shoot 64 percent during a 54-point second half.

Sa'eed Nelson scored 17 and Larry Motuzis had 15 points for the outmanned Eagles (0-2), who haven't beaten a ranked team since Dec. 15, 1982, when they upset No. 5 Georgetown 62-61.

Committing 22 turnovers against "Press Virginia" was not a formula for ending that drought. The Mountaineers also enjoyed 39-26 edge in rebounds.

Bolden scored seven points in the span of 27 seconds to spark West Virginia on a 17-4 run early in the second-half. The sophomore guard sank a 3-pointer before finishing a fast-break at the basket and being intentionally fouled. Bolden added two free throws to make it a 53-35 cushion.

After American knotted the game at 24-24 on Cheikh Diallo's 3-pointer, Carter energized the Mountaineers during the final 6:31 of the half.

Carter's steal on an inbounds pass led to a breakaway layup and he followed by feeding Miles for an alley-oop dunk. Carter added a runner in the lane, set up Teddy Allen's 3 and tacked on two free throws for a 44-33 lead at the break.

American lost Diallo late in the half after his flagrant-2 elbow against Beetle Bolden triggered an ejection. The junior guard from Senegal left with six points and six rebounds.

American, which lost its opener 83-45 at Kansas State, trailed 21-6 in second-chance points.

NOTES: West Virginia starting C Sagaba Konate remained on the bench throughout the night, his first time sitting out after 38 career games. ... Among the youngest rosters in Division I, American joins Kentucky, Holy Cross and Bowling Green as the only rosters that do not feature a senior. ... Mountaineers F Lamont West had 10 points at halftime, going 10 of 13 on free throws. ... Before the game, West Virginia raised its NCAA tournament banner from last season's Sweet 16 run.