221 days ago, Darian DeVries was announced as the 23rd head coach in West Virginia men’s basketball history.
221 days is the amount of time DeVries has had to picture his ideal start to the season, but even the start the Mountaineers had on Monday was likely better than he could have imagined.
West Virginia scored the first 21 points of the game, as the Darian DeVries era officially began with an 87-59 win over Robert Morris.
While WVU tabbed DeVries to be their head coach, he brought his son Tucker with him, the back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year. Tucker made his impact felt right out of the gate, as he got a steal, hit a three-pointer, and got another steal, which led to a dunk, before a steal from Toby Okani led to another DeVries three, as West Virginia led 8-0 in the opening 1:13 of the game.
The Mountaineers opened their lead to 21-0 before Robert Morris made a basket at the 14:13 mark to score their first points of the game. WVU led by as many as 28 in the first half as they were in front, 30-2, with 11:59 to play in the first half.
Robert Morris responded with a 12-2 run, cutting West Virginia’s lead to 18 with seven minutes to play in the first half. The half ended with the Mountaineers leading, 46-26, as they knocked down nine three-pointers in the opening frame, which was more than they made in 24 of their 32 games last season.
Following an elongated halftime break, which included the replacement of the shot clock on one of the baskets, it was more of the same for the Mountaineers.
Okani made a jumper to start the scoring, and after RMU scored four straight points, the Mountaineers netted eight points, including back-to-back three-pointers from Javon Small.
Tucker DeVries led all Mountaineers scorers with 18 points, making six of his 13 shots from the field, including going 4-for-9 from three.
West Virginia was active on the defensive end all night long as they forced 10 turnovers in the first half. In total, they forced 14 turnovers, leading to 25 points.
Nine players scored for West Virginia, including five reaching the double-digit mark. DeVries led the team, followed by Small with 15, Okani with 13, Jonathan Powell with 11, and KJ Tenner with 10 points.
On the night, WVU shot 55 percent from the field, knocking down 41 percent of their three-pointers. Robert Morris shot 32.4 percent from the field, making six of their 24 three-pointers.
WVU will now face UMass on Friday, with tip-off set for 7:00 p.m. at the WVU Coliseum.
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