Mountaineers Pull Away From Cowboys In Second Half For Road Win

Jaysean Paige scored 17 points and Devin Williamsrecorded his 13th double-double of the season with 13 points and 15 rebounds to lead No. 14 West Virginia to a 70-56 victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday night.

It was the second straight win for West Virginia (22-7, 11-5 Big 12), as coach Bob Huggins moved ahead of Lefty Driesell into sole possession of 10th place on the NCAA Division I all-time wins list with 787.

Joe Burton scored a career-high 16 points to lead Oklahoma State (12-17, 3-13), which lost its fourth straight contest and seventh of its last eight.

After finishing the first half on a 10-1 run to take a 33-29 lead into the break, West Virginia continued to roll early in the second, outscoring Oklahoma State 11-2 over the first 5:08 to go up 44-31 after Paige's second straight layup.

The Cowboys went on a 9-2 run over the next 3:22 to pull back to within 46-40 with 11:35 remaining, but that was as close as they would get, as the Mountaineers answered with another 11-2 run over the next four-plus minutes and maintained at least a nine-point lead the rest of the way.

Oklahoma State jumped out to an early 7-2 lead, but West Virginia used a 14-3 run over the next seven minutes to take a 16-10 advantage after Williams' free throw with 9:58 remaining in the opening half.

The Cowboys responded with a 14-0 run of their own, building an eight-point lead after Joe Burton sank a 3 from the left baseline with 6:13 to go in the half.

West Virginia answered with five consecutive points to close to within 24-21, and moments later, trailed 28-23 with 2:31 remaining. The Mountaineers then reeled off 10 of the next 11 points to close the half after Jevon Carter hit a 3 with just one second left, taking a 33-29 edge into the break.

TIP-INS

West Virginia: The Mountaineers entered the day leading the nation with an average of 34.1 points per game off the bench, and in this one, they managed 35, led by Paige's 17. ... West Virginia also tops the country in forcing turnovers, coming in with a 24.7 average, and induced the Cowboys into 19 turnovers, just three fewer than their season-high.

Oklahoma State: With dynamic freshman Jawun Evans and senior leader Phil Forte both out for the rest of the season due to injuries, Oklahoma State received strong performances from some of its depth players. Besides Burton's career-high scoring night, Tavarius Shine, who was making his second career start, scored 12 points, just two off his career-high, while Mitchell Solomon put home eight points, also two shy of his personal best of 10.

UP NEXT

West Virginia: at home against Texas Tech on Wednesday.

Oklahoma State: on the road at No. 17 Iowa State on Monday.