WVU opens Big 12 play with road win over Oklahoma State
No. 11 West Virginia (12-1, 1-0) opened Big 12 Conference play with a 92-75 win on the road against Oklahoma State Friday afternoon.
The Mountaineers were without redshirt junior Elijah Macon due to a knee injury so senior Brandon Watkins was inserted into the starting lineup. West Virginia forced a total of 18 turnovers, while shooting over 50-percent from the field against the Cowboys.
Junior guard Daxter Miles scored 22 points while others in double figures were junior guard Jevon Carter with 13 points and freshman forward Sagaba Konate with 12 points. Four other West Virginia players finished with nine points in the game.
The score sat at 2-all with 1:35 off the clock as both teams came out with aggressive full-court pressure on both ends of the floor. But the Mountaineers would seize an early 10-5 lead at the 16:25 mark as the pace continued to go back forth down between the two teams.
West Virginia doubled the Cowboys up at 14-7 at the 13:27 mark as the Mountaineers started the game shooting 75-percent from the field while holding Oklahoma State to 27-percent. That lead would swell to 19-7 after a trio of Carter free throws to cap off a 9-0 run by the visitors.
A three from Lamont West pushed the lead to its largest of the first half at 26-12 as the Mountaineers continued to shoot well from the field against the Cowboys. But Oklahoma State would battle back to trim the lead to 29-23 as the Cowboys started to come alive from the field.
The Mountaineers pressure started to take its toll in the first half forcing ten turnovers and stretching the lead out to 36-25 with under four minutes remaining in the half. And the Mountaineers would take a 41-28 lead into the halftime break on the road.
Oklahoma State opened the second half on a 5-0 run, but the Mountaineers were able to withstand that and keep the Cowboys at a distance in the early goings of the second half.
The Mountaineers opened a 55-40 led at the 14:21 mark of the second half as West Virginia continued to give the Pokes issues on both ends of the floor. West Virginia would increase the lead to 70-51 with 8:34 remaining in the game as the Mountaineers forced 14 turnovers to that point.
And from there the Mountaineers would hold off several runs, cruising to the road win in a dominating effort from start to finish.
The Mountaineers will stay on the road with a matchup with Texas Tech Tuesday night at 9 p.m.