By JUSTIN JACKSON
The Dominion Post
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Elijah Macon decided to use his towel and wrap it around his forehead in the style of a Samurai warrior.
Daxter Miles Jr. went with the I-just-got-out-of-the-shower look.
“He doesn’t know how to do it right,” joked WVU men’s basketball forward Esa Ahmad, who chose to use his towel to go with the Arabian Prince look. “Dax doesn’t know how to tie it right.”
“They all looked awful,” added WVU guard Teyvon Myers. “Just awful.”
None of the styles felt as bad as the hurting the 15th-ranked Mountaineers put on an overmatched Western Carolina team during a 90-37 victory Dec. 7, in front of 8,384 in the Charleston Civic Center.
By the end, WVU starters were having some fun. What they did on the floor defensively against the Catamounts (3-6) was equally as impressive.
WVU (7-1), which leads the nation in forced turnovers, used its relentless full-court pressure to force 34 turnovers and held a 37-0 advantage in points off turnovers.
Playing without starting point guard Devin Peterson, who did not make the trip, Western Carolina needed nearly 12 minutes to reach double figures in scoring and then needed an additional 20 minutes of game-clock time to score a second set of 10 points.
For good measure, the Mountaineers added a season-high 21 steals and eight blocked shots.
“We work on our rotations every day in practice,” said Ahmad, who led WVU with 14 points and eight rebounds. “We have to make sure our rotations are crisp. It’s a big point of emphasis with us and it shows. If we’re flying around and playing with good effort, we’re going to get those blocks and steals.”
They all led to runouts and easy transition baskets for the Mountaineers, who led by as many as 60 points with 8:23 remaining in the game.
In the first half, Macon had a slam dunk, Jevon Carter scored on a step-back 3-pointer, Myers scored on a give-and-go fast break and Tarik Phillip hit two 3-pointers — all before the Catamounts hit their second field goal of the game.
If there was any worry of a letdown with WVU coming off its upset over Virginia, those concerns were wiped clear at that moment.
“I thought we came out sluggish,” said WVU head coach Bob Huggins, who won his 798th career game. “We didn’t have much energy. But, our guys watch tape. They knew they were going to win.”
Western Carolina was held to just 26 percent (13 of 50) shooting for the game, while WVU went 30 of 61 (49 percent) and connected on eight 3-pointers.
More than anything, it may have been the way WVU rotated on defense that was as impressive as anything else. WVU’s eight blocks were the most in a game since the 2013 Big 12 tournament.
At one point, Miles came from nowhere to block Marc Gosselin’s lay-up attempt, while freshman Sagaba Konate added four blocks.
“I thought we did a pretty good job,” Huggins said. “When we play the experienced guys, watching them rotate, they do a pretty good job. They get to the ball pretty quick. Generally speaking, we’re making the right rotations.”
Gosselin later scored on a run-out lay-up with 8:25 remaining in the game to give the Catamounts 20 points, most of WVU’s starters were already on the bench — maybe getting those towels warmed up.
It was the fewest points scored against WVU since The Citadel was held to 36 points, in 2006.
“We were pissed when they got to 30,” Ahmad said. “We wanted to keep them to at least 25.”
“Yeah, I was mad,” added point guard Jevon Carter, who scored 13 points. “They almost got 40. We have to keep them down, man.”
In what was a balanced attack, Macon added 11 points and Myers had 10. Phillip added eight points and five assists.
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