Javon Small scored 23 points to propel West Virginia to a wire-to-wire 86-43 victory over Iona on Wednesday night in Morgantown, W.Va.
Small also had five rebounds, five assists and four steals for the Mountaineers (3-1), who atoned for a humbling loss Friday at rival Pitt in which they trailed by as many as 31 points.
Jonathan Powell provided West Virginia with an instant jolt of offense, scoring all 11 of his points less than 10 minutes into the game. Tucker DeVries contributed 13 points, three steals and three blocks while Amani Hansberry added 10 points and nine rebounds.
The sharp-shooting Mountaineers shot 51.8 percent from the floor and made 15 of 31 3-pointers (48.4 percent).
James Patterson scored 12 points and Luke Jungers added 10 points for Iona (1-4) of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, which committed 21 turnovers. West Virginia turned those mistakes into 26 points.
The Mountaineers held the Gaels’ top threat Dejour Reaves scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting. Reaves entered averaging 15.5 points per game.
Iona made 23.7 percent of its shots from the floor and 5 of 19 (26.3 percent) from deep in the teams’ first-ever meeting.
DeVries opened the scoring with a 3-pointer before Powell took over to put the hosts ahead by double digits.
Moments after he entered the game, Powell scored on a fastbreak slam after a DeVries steal and then drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to cap a 10-0 that gave West Virginia a 21-7 lead less than seven minutes into the game.
Moments later, Powell added another trey, giving him 11 points in a span of 2:41 as the Mountaineers took a 27-12 lead.
Small took charge later in the half. His two 3-pointers highlighted a 12-0 surge that increased West Virginia’s lead to 39-17 with 6:55 left before halftime.
After the Mountaineers missed seven straight shots, Small delivered a three-point-play and followed with a triple to stretch the lead to 45-22 at the half.
From there, Iona never whittled the deficit to less than 21 points. West Virginia maxed out its lead at 82-38 when reserve Jake Auer drained the first of his two 3-pointers with 2:56 left.
