Tre Mitchell collected 19 points and six rebounds to fuel West Virginia to an 85-64 victory over Navy on Wednesday in Morgantown, W.Va.
Mitchell made 8 of 12 shots from the floor — including 3 of 4 from 3-point range. The Mountaineers (7-2) shot a robust 55.2 percent from the field (32 of 58) and 45.8 percent from beyond the arc (11 of 24).
Mitchell’s point total fell just shy of his season high of 21, set during West Virginia’s 75-57 win over Morehead State on Nov. 15.
Like Mitchell, Erik Stevenson also drained three 3-pointers. Stevenson, who scored all 13 of his points in the first half, is 16-for-32 from 3-point range in his last six games.
Joe Toussaint scored 12 points and Kedrian Johnson collected 11 points and seven assists for the Mountaineers, who enjoyed a 38-23 edge in rebounds to bounce back from an 84-74 loss at Xavier on Saturday.
Navy freshman Austin Benigni made 8 of 10 shots to highlight his 20-point performance. That point total fell just short of his season high of 23, set during the Midshipmen’s 80-67 victory over Youngstown State on Nov. 20.
Sean Yoder had 10 points and Christian Jones added nine for Navy (5-4), which has lost the first three contests of its four-game road trip.
Navy trimmed an 18-point deficit to five at 54-49 after Benigni converted a three-point play with 14:18 remaining in the second half.
West Virginia rediscovered its stroke from 3-point range, as Johnson, Toussaint and Mitchell converted on consecutive possessions and Josiah Harris also converted from beyond the arc to claim a 70-56 lead with 8:37 to play.
The Mountaineers were not seriously challenged the rest of the way.
West Virginia rode its hot shooting to a 36-18 lead with 7:13 remaining in the first half, highlighted by a pair of 3-pointers from Stevenson and Mitchell.
Navy mounted a bit of a comeback, outscoring the Mountaineers by a 20-12 margin to conclude the half.
–Field Level Media