Bob Huggins was honored pregame for his Hall of Fame enshrinement and despite not having Emmitt Matthews, the team took care of business for their leader on his special night.
Erik Stevenson was the story of the first half for West Virginia, as he put up 16 points in the period.
It took him just 15 seconds into the game to score, hitting a jumper on his first attempt. The next two Mountaineer shots were threes from Stevenson as well, one of which he hit.
Keddy Johnson made two free throws for his first points of the night after six minutes of play, and grabbed a steal immediately after, before being subbed out by Joe Toussaint.
The Mountaineers got in the bonus after a quick seven fouls from Buffalo, putting Mo Wague at free throw line to make the score 15-14 with 12:30 to go in the first half.
Joe Toussaint coughed the ball up on the possession after the free throws, but redeemed himself by taking a charge on the other end.
Stevenson got his eighth first half point on another three ball, giving WVU their largest lead at 21-16.
Wague was fouled again, this time taking the Mountaineers into the double-bonus with an entire nine and a half remaining in the half.
Some impressive shot making by Buffalo, a two minute scoring drought by WVU, and 11 points off the bench by Isaac Jack for the Bulls, tied the game at 28 apiece with six and a half minutes remaining.
The freshman Josiah Harris ended the shooting slump for the Mountaineers with a big time two-handed jam however, his first points of the night.
Erik Stevenson got a quick four more points to add to his total before finding Kobe Johnson in the corner for three. He then made one of two free throws after a technical was called on the Bulls, and hit a three to close the possession.
Mo Wague grabbed a rebound and put it back up for the last points of the first half, putting the Mountaineers up 47-39 at the break.
Erik Stevenson got his first points of the half on another three, increasing the Mountaineers lead to 10 after two and a half minutes of play in the second.
Five minutes of play later, the gap was closed to just two.
Shortly after, another technical foul was called on Buffalo after sending Tre Mitchell to the line on a shooting foul. He would make all four consecutive free throws. Mitchell then hit his and WVU’s next two jumpers, bringing him to 17 points on the night. This scoring formed a 8-0 run, all scored by Mitchell, making the score 69-60.
A pull-up jumper from Joe Toussaint gave the Mountaineers their new largest lead of the night at 12. An and-1 by Jimmy Bell following an offensive rebound increased the lead to 15 on the next possession.
West Virginia controlled the game for the remainder of the contest to secure the victory. Jimmy Bell got his season high (18) and first career double-double, Erik Stevenson scored his season high as well (22), and Tre Mitchell scored 17 points to spark the 18 point win.
The Mountaineers will look to get their 10th win of the season against Stony Brook on Thursday, December 22.
