The West Virginia Mountaineers entered Friday night’s contest with a 2-0 record, while the Stetson Hatters came in looking for their first win in the early stages of 2015-16. Going into Morgantown, West Virginia and coming out with a win is no easy feat for any program, let alone a mid-major team struggling on the defensive end of the floor.

Stetson allowed 94 points in their last time out, to The Citadel Bulldogs, rendering the 93 points they put themselves useless. They were looking for a better defensive showing on Friday, as they were looking to hang with the Mountaineers.

On Friday night, the Hatters left their defense back in Deland, Florida, and the rout was on for the hometown Mountaineers.

West Virginia rolled to an easy victory over Stetson, putting up more than 50-points in each half to come away with a 103-62 victory.

In the opening 10 minutes of the contest, Stetson was putting the pressure on West Virginia on the offensive end. The Hatters took an early lead, and slowly built on it as the first half moved along. Their lead stretched to as many as 7 points on two separate occasions, the second coming at the 10:13 mark on a pair of Luke Doyle free throws.

From there, West Virginia started to flex their muscle and take over full control of the game. Elijah Macon and Jaysean Paige combined to score 14 straight points for the Mountaineers, allowing them to eliminate the Hatters’ lead and take one of their own.

Thanks to strong shooting on offense, and Stetson going without a field goal for over three minutes, West Virginia was able to build a double-digit lead as the game went into the half. A three pointer from Daxter Miles just before the buzzer padded the Mountaineers’ lead, sending them into the break with a 51 – 35 lead.

The second half began how the first half ended, with West Virginia making a run on the offensive end of the floor and stretching their lead even wider. Playing out the final 20 minutes was nothing more than a formality for both teams, as the result of the game was never in question.

Paige, Macon and Devin Williams continued the onslaught as the second half wore on, stretching the lead and making life miserable for the Hatters. It was a pair of free throws from Williams that pushed West Virginia to the 100-point mark on the game.

When all was said and done, West Virginia cruised to a relatively easy victory over Stetson, 103 – 62.

For the visiting Stetson Hatters, their star guards were never able to get going on Friday night. Brian Pegg recorded just 7 points and 5 rebounds, while Divine Myles put up 6 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists in the loss.

Forward Leo Goodman scored a team-high 14 points off the bench.

In front of a rowdy home crowd, the Mountaineers didn’t disappoint on Friday night as five different players scored in double-figures in the win. Forward Devin Williams led the way, scoring a game-high 23 points to go along with 10 rebounds for his third-straight double-double to open the season.

Off the bench, Jaysean Paige put up 19 points and Elijah Macon scored 18 points to help lead the Mountaineers to victory.

Defense will be the main focus for the Stetson Hatters (0 – 3) moving forwards, as they have allowed at least 94 points in all three games this season. They will go for their first win of the season on Monday night when they take on Fort Valley State.

On the contrary, the West Virginia Mountaineers (3 – 0) have eclipsed the 100-point mark twice this season, and will look to keep their offense rolling as they move ahead. They take on Bethune-Cookman on Monday night, looking to go 4 – 0 on the season.