MORGANTOWN — Want to know how a head coach of a basketball team that just won by 42 points can still have a tough go of it?

You schedule the team that is ranked 364th in the country – out of 365 Division I schools – in the Ken Pomeroy Ratings for a home game a week after Thanksgiving and then fall behind that team 9-2 early and struggle for an entire half.

That was WVU head coach Ross Hodge’s story Wednesday night, as the Mountaineers – a 31.5-point favorite going into the game – pulled away in the second half for a 91-49 victory inside the Hope Coliseum.

“He was fired up, for sure,” said WVU forward Chance Moore of Hodge at halftime. “He was holding us accountable. He knows that we’re better than what we played in that first half. He challenged us to go get better out there and to go out and produce. I feel like that’s what we did in the second half.”

Honestly, it was tough to decide which head coach had a worse first half. Coppin State’s Larry Stewart was ejected just seven minutes into the game after getting two technical fouls whistled on him for arguing a no-call.

That was not a momentum-changer for the Mountaineers (7-2). WVU guard Honor Huff missed three of the four free throws.

“It’s hard, but my teammates kept me up,” said Huff, whose 17 points tied Moore for game-high honors. “They did a better job than most would in keeping me sane. Coach Hodge did a good job, as well. On the (second set of) technical free throws, he was like, ‘Go shoot them.’ I still missed one. Obviously, I can make free throws and make shots. It’s just one of those games you’ve just got to put to bed and get ready for the next one.”

Stewart missed his Eagles (2-9) hanging around for the first 20 minutes, while leading for just shy of seven of those minutes. Coppin State also finished the half on a 6-0 run to trail 40-32 at the break.

“We didn’t have it, whatever it is,” Hodge said. “We were a step slow defensively and had a hard time keeping the ball out of the paint. They drove us early and we fouled early, which is typically a sign that you’re a little late.”

Meanwhile, Hodge had to stand along the sideline and watch every second of it.

The difference came in the second half, as WVU scored 22 points in the paint, forced 10 turnovers and got out in transition to pull away comfortably. The Mountaineers also connected on a season-high 11 3-pointers, while holding Coppin State to just 25% shooting (7 of 28) in the second half.

So, which half will be remembered more?

“Both, for sure,” Hodge replied. “It’s a reminder and this is college basketball. You get reminders nightly. One of the last things I probably do each night is scroll through the ESPN app and look at scores around the country. Every night, there’s one where you’re like, ‘Oh, crap, so-and-so beat so-and-so.’ The reality is if you don’t show up with the right level of intensity and physicality and willingness to execute for 40 minutes, you can find yourself in a dogfight with anybody. That’s the truth.”

WVU had four players score in double figures. Treysen Eaglestaff finished with 11 points and eight rebounds, while Brenen Lorient had 12 points. In just his second game of the season, forward Jackson Fields added nine points and four rebounds. He missed the first seven games while recovering from offseason wrist surgery.