Javon Small filled the box score as the Mountaineers came back to rout Iona

MORGANTOWN — It would be easy to write off West Virginia’s 86-43 victory over Iona on Wednesday night with a tip for the Mountaineers’ defense.

Ultimately, the Gaels were only able to shoot 23.7% from the field, and over the course of more than 40 frustrating moments, Iona managed just 14 baskets.

“Overall, I thought our players were pretty good,” WVU head coach Darian DeVries said. “Keeping them at 23.7%, I believe this is a 20-year low.”

BOX SCORE

To back this up, instead of checking out the Iona media guide, we’re covering the play of WVU quarterback Javon Small.

The senior transfer from Oklahoma State has been the Mountaineers’ most consistent performer in four storied games that few saw coming.

He was at it again against the Gaels (1-4), filling the box score like a hot dog is stuffed into buns at the Coliseum concession stands.

Starting with his 23 count, Small was both Mr. Outside and Mr. Inside in this match.

He hit five of WVU’s season-high 15 three-pointers, but then found himself scoring off cuts to the basket, off a fast break, and then getting to the free throw line.

“Not only was I not scoring goals, but I was also struggling with turnovers the first few games,” Small said. “Five assists and one turnover is a pretty good statistic.”

Additionally, those five assists along with five rebounds and four steals looked really nice.

“That’s the kind of stat line I think he can do consistently. I truly believe that,” DeVries said. “He’s that type of player. There are a lot of winning numbers for him on the stat sheet.”

That was the subject of the discussion between coach and player in last week’s loss to Pitt. DeVries asked Small to be more aggressive and more confident with the ball in his hands.

And Little answered.

“I was trying to be more aggressive in practice this week,” he said. “I’m seeing the ball go through the basket more and I know I can do that. I’m making the right reads, so this was definitely my best game so far.”

The Mountaineers (3-1) followed Small’s lead. They made nine three-pointers at the halftime and closed the half ahead 45-22.

WVU never took its foot off the gas pedal, quickly rising to 30 points and eventually 40 points in the second half.

“We were better,” DeVries said. “We moved the ball better, we were more connected. You hit 15 threes, that’s usually a pretty good night. We’ll take that for sure.”

Tucker DeVries rebounded from a tough game against Pitt. He finished the game with 13 points by making three three-pointers.

WVU’s 15 3-pointers were tied for a game against St. Louis in 2018. It was also the most since he made 15 3-pointers against St. Joseph’s.

WVU also hit 51.8% of its shots, the Mountaineers’ second-best shooting night of the season.

On defense, WVU blocked 11 shots and committed 21 turnovers.

“I felt good defensively,” Small said. “We were in the gaps, as we usually are. We talked about defense. We still need to get better at rebounding. “If we remove second chance points, we keep them at an even lower percentage.”

Notes

** WVU lost tips in all four games this season.
** Freshman forward Jonathan Powell finished with 11 points and made three 3-pointers. He scored in double figures in all four games this season.
** Amani Hansberry came back with 10 points and 9 rebounds after fouling out against Pitt and only scoring 2 points and 3 rebounds.
** The 21 turnovers WVU forced were the highest of the season.