I think it was Socrates who said “Mountaineer basketball. Tougher than a weekend at your in-laws.” This game is no exception to that rule. My favorite part of that saying is that it could be a good or a bad thing depending on how the game turns out. This was unfortunately a bad thing, at least in the first half.
Now, I want to be as fair as possible: I know that it is still early in the season, I am aware that Coach Hodge is still testing lineups out, and I also know that we are still implementing guys like Chance Moore and Jackson Fields into the fold. ALL of that being said, I expected this game to be a murder from the jump. We start the year 5–0, first time in forever it feels like, then we drop two in a row in our MTE. I expected us to come out and win this game within the first 5 minutes, but we failed to do that.
Our inability to control the game was due to the usual suspect: playing down to our competition. I don’t want that to be disrespectful either, for what it’s worth. Mercyhurst is a solid team led by their senior guard Bernie Blunt III who had a really solid game against us, but the team isn’t anywhere close to as talented as we are. We just cannot, for whatever reason, play like a team that is supposed to be a Power 5 school. I’m saying all of this after a win too, which is the crazy thing. It just shouldn’t take 17 minutes of in-game action against a Northeast Conference team, and let it be known that it was a 5 point game prior to that point.
We end the half 39–22 after going on a little bit of a run, but no one player stood out in that effort. I do want to highlight Amir Jenkins who finished the half with 8 points, 2 assists, and shot 60% from the floor. You know how much I like his game, and I’m hoping that if I keep shining a light on him that he’ll be a four year guy at WVU. I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious.
The second half, thankfully for my mental health, was a formality. We held Mercyhurst scoreless for the first four minutes of the half, and they were never really able to catch a groove after that.
I know that it seems like I’m being hypercritical, and that is because I am, but I’m only doing it because I know what’s coming up. This year will be a gauntlet in the Big 12: Kansas is as good as ever, Arizona State and Oklahoma State seem to be a step above what they usually are, and teams like BYU and Houston are looking sharp as well. As a matter of fact, at the time of writing, every single team in the Big 12 is 5–2 or better before we head into conference play. Which means that EVERYONE is at least as good as we are. We can play this “play with our food” game against Mercyhurst, and Lafayette, and Coppin State, but we will absolutely get our ass handed to us if we carry this kind of play into the conference games.
I will, however, try to chalk this game up to the extended break we had after the MTE, and we did win pretty handedly after all. I’m a little disappointed, but I’ll always celebrate a win. After the 70–38 win, it’s time for the Roundball Big 3 of the Game:
Amir Jenkins: 10 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
Brenen Lorient: 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists
Chance Moore: 11 points, 9 rebounds
We’ve got Coppin State on Wednesday so hopefully we can play this well for all 40 minutes against them. I’ve been having a really hard time as of late, and it sucks that I can’t call you and bitch about the game. I miss you, Dad. I love you.
Round The Game 
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