Treysen Eaglestaff was struggling to score all night in West Virginia’s 59-54 win over Kansas State Tuesday, but coach Ross Hodge said the senior guard didn’t let it weigh down the rest of his game.
Eaglestaff hit a 3-pointer with 2:08 left to give the Mountaineers the lead and then put the game away with an offensive rebound, putback and foul shot with 43 ticks left.
The Mountaineers (14-7, 5-3) will try to keep the momentum going Saturday when they host Baylor (11-9, 1-7) in a Big 12 game in Morgantown, W. Va.
“You are seeing Treysen’s evolution as a player who was a high-level scorer, who is now finding ways to impact winning when he is not having his best shooting night,” Hodge said. “He started out like 1-for-7 or maybe even worse, but he willed himself back into the game with offensive rebounding. Then he makes the big 3 and probably the play of the game was the offensive rebound, stick-back and free throw.
“I think that speaks to his growth as a player, as a competitor and as a winner.”
Eaglestaff’s other big play was a simple layup with 3:17 left, but it stopped a seven-minute scoring drought for the Mountaineers, who saw a lead that once was as large as 10 vanish during the stretch.
Eaglestaff finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. Honor Huff, who had five 3-pointers against Kansas State, continues to lead the Mountaineers with 16.3 points per game.
The Bears are coming off a 67-57 loss to Cincinnati Wednesday, their fourth straight loss and seventh of eight.
“I don’t know what was colder, our shooting, their shooting, or outside,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said.
The Bears shot just 23 of 65 from the field, including 6 of 26 on 3-pointers. Baylor leading scorer Cameron Carr, who averages 19.6 a game, scored only four points. He missed his first eight shots and finished the game 1 for 11.
Tounde Yessoufou led the Bears with 16 points and scores 17.6 per game.
Center James Nnaji, a former NBA draft pick, returned for the Bears after not playing Saturday, but was scoreless in seven minutes.
–Field Level Media
