WVU Sports Communications ROAD WIN — WVU guard Treysen Eaglestaff had 23 points on Wednesday to lead the Mountaineers to a 75-63 victory against Arizona State.

MORGANTOWN — It took a 2,000-mile trip into the desert, but the WVU men’s basketball team finally found its peace playing away from home.

Just maybe, so has WVU guard Treysen Eaglestaff.

The Mountaineers grinded their way to domination in the second half on Wednesday night and picked up their first true road win of the season following a 75-63 victory against struggling Arizona State inside Desert Financial Arena.

Eaglestaff connected on 6 of 9 from 3-point range to finish with a game-high 23 points, but his overall game also showed seven rebounds and a key assist in the second half that helped keep the Mountaineers (13-6, 4-2 Big 12) rolling.

Arizona State (10-9, 1-5), meanwhile, has dropped three games in a row and seven of its last eight.

Along with Eaglestaff’s performance, WVU’s defense also came alive in the second half. After allowing Arizona State to shoot 56% from the floor over the first 20 minutes, the Sun Devils were held to just 38.5% (10 of 26) from the floor and they didn’t make a 3-pointer in the second half.

“We talked about it at halftime,” WVU head coach Ross Hodge said on his radio postgame show. “We were disappointed and a step slow. We felt fortunate at halftime to just be down two.”

WVU nearly let the game get away in the first half, because Arizona State simply wouldn’t stop hitting shots. Andrija Grbovic nailed a 3-pointer that gave the Sun Devils a 26-13 lead and big man Massamba Diop made five of his first seven shots, including one that saw the 7-footer drive from the 3-point line and finish with a powerful dunk.

The Mountaineers got back into it – closing the first half on a 19-9 run – behind Eaglestaff, who is suddenly becoming a factor for the Mountaineers.

Coming off a 22-point performance last week against Colorado, the 6-foot-6 guard made four of his first five 3-point attempts and then Honor Huff nailed another one from about 32 feet away and Arizona State’s halftime lead was just 37-35.

A highly-anticipated transfer from North Dakota heading into the season, Eaglestaff got off to a slow start in nonconference play. At one point, he was shooting 23.5% from behind the arc.

Over his last two games, Eaglestaff has made nine 3-pointers and has combined for 45 points.

After WVU’s win against Colorado, Eaglestaff talked about his give-and-take relationship with WVU fans since the season began, and how some have not let him forget his difficult start to the season.

All of that just may be in the rear-view mirror now, as the Mountaineers have won four of their last five heading into Saturday’s 2 p.m. showdown against top-ranked Arizona. WVU will be looking to pull off a major shocker on the road in that one.

“Honestly, he’s just comfortable,” Hodge said of Eagletsaff. “He understands that we need him to be aggressive. We need his shot making. He really bailed us out in that first half. He kind of willed us back into the game.”

Eaglestaff remained aggressive in the second half and dropped a key assist to teammate Jasper Floyd for a lay-up that gave WVU a 58-51 lead with 7:17 remaining.

He also got help from teammate Brenen Lorient, who scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half. Floyd added 12 more to go along with five rebounds and four assists.

“I really challenged him earlier in the game, because I didn’t think he had a great start,” Hodge said of Lorient. “He’s been with me. His response came on both ends of the floor. He was huge, man.”