The Massachusetts men’s basketball team defeated West Virginia Saturday in the Minutemen’s strongest performance of the young season. The leading scorer for UMass was Robert Davis Jr., a freshman who was averaging five points per game. His career high reached 18, and every single point came via 3-pointers.

A first-year player who head coach Frank Martin said was recruited in part due to his shooting prowess, it had taken a few games for Davis to find his stroke. Against the Mountaineers (4-6), Davis found it, and his shooting proved to be the difference between a UMass (6-2) win and a loss at MassMutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts.

“My teammates keep giving me confidence,” Davis said. “My point guard, my coach [are] just always there telling me, letting me know that no matter what, if I’m open, give it a lick…And also trust in my work. If I work at something, I shouldn’t waver in my confidence no matter how many good or bad games that I’m having.”

The biggest shot from the Detroit native came in the game’s final few minutes. With both teams trading baskets, the outcome of the semi-home matchup hung in the balance. With under six minutes to play, the Mountaineers entered into their 2-3 zone, a type of defense that was proving to be effective against the Minutemen.

The ball was swung around the perimeter a couple times, and as a result, West Virginia guard Noah Farrakhan was caught way too far upcourt from his usual spot on the baseline. That led to a wide-open Davis in the short corner, standing directly in front of his teammates and the UMass faithful.

Fans stood up. Teammates stood up. They knew what was coming.

It was the last of six made threes from Davis on the night. The freshman was one of the biggest benefactors of a Minutemen offense that clicked for the majority of Saturday’s game. Martin’s squad averaged 1.16 points per possession, an efficient mark for a squad that struggled on that side of the ball last season.

For Davis, his two halves were near-mirror images of each other. In the first half, where the Mountaineers primarily went man-to-man, half-court sets from the UMass staff gave their players a series of good looks. Davis used those looks to his advantage, making three of his four attempts from deep in the contest’s opening 20 minutes.

The second half was a similar story, with four attempts again resulting in three makes for the freshman. For a Minutemen team that had made 32.5 percent of their threes coming in, Davis’ 6-of-8 performance from deep was crucial.

“The last three weeks we just haven’t made threes,” Martin said. “We’ve been taking good shots, we just haven’t made threes. Today, it went in for us early and it gave us confidence and allowed us to get out and run.”

Despite his stat line, shooting wasn’t the only positive trait that Davis showed. In the second half, Davis’ patience showed as well, and it paid off for the first-year player.

With a Mountaineer zone that wasn’t hounding the perimeter, Davis found himself with opportunities to take somewhat-open threes early in UMass possessions. However, the freshman turned those opportunities down and continued to move the ball around the perimeter. Most times, that awareness led to a better shot for the Minutemen, whether it was Davis or a teammate who got the final look.

With 18 points and a win in hand, Saturday was the biggest chapter in Davis’ burgeoning collegiate career. The Detroit native chose UMass over 13 other Division-I offers, and according to Martin, his recruitment to Amherst was easier than one may think.

“This dude got personalities for days,” Martin said. “A lot of people [are] intimidated by personality. I like personality…[Davis] called me like two days [after his visit] and said ‘Yo, I got to play for you.’”

With Atlantic 10 play still to come, the emergence of Davis as an offensive spark plug could pay dividends for the Minutemen down the road.

Dean Wendel can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @DeanWende1.