West Virginia’s defensive reputation took a second consecutive beating Sunday at the Charleston (S.C.) Classic.

This time it was from downtown, as Xavier tied its season high with 16 3-pointers in a 78-68 victory against the Mountaineers inside TD Arena.

“We allowed them to establish a comfort zone and a rhythm offensively,” WVU head coach Ross Hodge said on his radio postgame show.

He wasn’t kidding.

The Musketeers (4-3) erased an early eight-point deficit in the first half by shooting 8 of 13 from 3-point range and ended the half with a 7-0 run for a 36-28 lead at the break.

Xavier didn’t slow down in the second half. Whenever the Mountaineers (5-2) made a threat to get back into the game, Xavier’s sharpshooters came back with an answer.

That came via Jovan Milicevic forcing a thre

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