After a slow start in the opening minutes, West Virginia turned it up on the defensive end, which quickly turned into offense.
After WVU trailed 6-2 before going on a 15-2 run, they seemed to be poised to be on their way to an easy second win of the season. However, a second half that saw them shoot 25 percent from the field meant their large halftime lead was down to single digits.
West Virginia would ultimately pull it out, stepping up on the defensive end late as they held on for a 75-69 win on Friday night from the WVU Coliseum.
West Virginia had a sloppy start to the night, as UMass used their size to control the offensive glass early, and their ball pressure bothered the Mountaineers in the opening minutes.
WVU turned up the heat on the defensive end as they got settled in, as a block turned to a fastbreak and-one opportunity for Javon Small, as the Mountaineers led 7-6. From there, WVU scored 22 of the next 26 points between both teams, with 10 coming from the free throw line as the Mountaineers led 25-10.
Towards the end of the first half, WVU started finding their stroke from three, knocking down three in the final 6:03 as WVU led 45-28 at halftime.
WVU's 17-point lead would slowly evaporate as they cooled off from the field and UMass heated up.
WVU went 4-for-17 to start the half from the field, while UMass went 10-for-19 in the same span. WVU's lead was down to eight points with 7:48 to play and looked to potentially be in jeopardy.
West Virginia would break a stretch lasting roughly six minutes without a made field goal as Tucker DeVries knocked down a three-pointer, pushing WVU's lead to 11.
From that point on, it would be an increased intensity on the defensive end that helped shut down UMass.
The Minuteman scored only four total points from the 8:40 mark until the 3:14 mark of the second half, while the Mountaineers scored only six points in the same span.
UMass would get WVU's lead to seven with 2:45 to play, as Amani Hansberry made a layup, pushing WVU's lead back to nine and forcing a UMass timeout with 2:08 to play.
WVU got a stop on the defensive side of the ball before DeVries made an errant pass to give the ball back to UMass with 1:40 to play. Jaylen Curry would get to the free throw line for the Minuteman but missed both free throws.
Curry got his redemption, forcing a steal of Javon Small, which turned into a layup for UMass, as WVU led 68-61 with 1:12 to play. DeVries would head to the free throw line with 49 seconds to play. He would make both free throws, pushing WVU's lead back to nine.
UMass went back to the free throw line with 36.8 seconds left but missed both free throws. Hansberry made a pair of free throws on the other end for WVU, but Rashool Diggins made a three-pointer keeping UMass alive.
West Virginia would ultimately hang on, though, as UMass hit a three-pointer in the closing seconds.
DeVries would end up leading WVU in scoring, making three of his seven shots, but finished with 17 points. West Virginia shot 37 percent from the field as a team, going 8-for-23 from three.
West Virginia turned the ball over 14 times, while they forced 15 turnovers. UMass shot 42 percent from the field, going 6-for-21 from three.
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