DJ Thomas scored 20 points off the bench to help lead West Virginia to a wire-to-wire 87-70 victory over Creighton in the College Basketball Crown semifinals Saturday in Las Vegas.
Treysen Eaglestaff added 16 points and Brenen Lorient scored 15 for West Virginia (20-14), which advances to face former Big 12 rival Oklahoma in the championship on Sunday. Honor Huff had 13 points, while Chance Moore posted a 10-point, 13-rebound double-double in the win.
Josh Dix’s 18 points led Creighton (16-18), which said goodbye to head coach Greg McDermott, who is retiring as the winningest coach in program history. Hudson Greer scored 15 and Jasen Green tallied 14 points and 12 boards for the Bluejays.
West Virginia extended its six-point halftime lead to 11 on Lorient’s 3-pointer and Thomas’ layup with 13:40 remaining.
The margin ballooned to 16 after Harlan Obioha’s three-point play and Thomas’ basket, forcing Creighton’s timeout with 9:06 left. Green had six of Creighton’s ensuing 8-0 run, cutting the Bluejays’ deficit in half.
West Virginia separated itself again though, as Huff’s third triple was followed by Moore’s dunk and Lorient’s layup to extend the Mountaineers’ lead to 79-61 with 3:40 left.
Lorient’s thunderous dunk and Eaglestaff’s layup put West Virginia ahead by 19, sealing the easy win.
Huff drilled a pair of 3-pointers in the opening minutes to help West Virginia take an early 8-0 lead.
The Mountaineers grabbed their first double-digit lead at the 9:15 mark of the opening half, as Thomas and Huff’s layups put them ahead 26-16.
After Thomas’ triple gave West Virginia a 29-17 lead, Dix’s three-point play stamped a 9-0 run to pull the Bluejays within three.
Eaglestaff missed his first three 3-point attempts before drilling an open trey with 1:14 remaining, which gave the Mountaineers a 43-37 halftime edge.
Thomas led all scorers with 12 first-half points, while Greer hit three 3-pointers and had 11 points in the first half for Creighton.
