YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Despite a shaky first half performance, No. 25 West Virginia (10-1) extended its win streak to three games with a 75-64 road victory over Youngstown State (7-6) Saturday afternoon.

The Mountaineers got out to an early 8-2 lead, but Youngstown State would battle back and the two teams went back-and-forth.

A three-point play by Oscar Tshiebwe gave West Virginia a 15-12 lead at the 14:29 mark in the first half and a three-pointer by Miles McBride later on gave the Mountaineers an 18-14 advantage.

Youngstown State was shooting well from three-point range during the first half and tied the game up two different times with a three-pointer. The Penguins later took a 26-25 lead with a three and free throw from Jelani Simmons.

The Penguins continued to gain more momentum and were able to capitalize off West Virginia’s offensive struggles and miscues.

With Youngstown State leading by a score of 36-31 late in the first half, West Virginia cut its deficit down to just a point thanks to a jump shot from Jermaine Haley and breakaway dunk from Chase Harler.

But the Penguins would extend their lead to three points with a jumper from Darius Quisenberry at the halftime buzzer, putting the score at 38-35 in favor of Youngstown State.

Halftime Stats:

Youngstown State scored four straight points to start the second half and led by seven. But the Mountaineers would battle back and regain the lead at 46-44 with 15:05 remaining.

Back-and-forth action would occur as the two teams exchanged baskets and turned up the intensity. With less than 11 minutes to go, West Virginia had a 54-51 lead over the Penguins and it would be extended to 58-51 after two layups from Tshiebwe.

That lead was then cut down to two points after a 5-0 run from the Penguins, but the Mountaineers extended their lead to six with a jumper from Culver and breakaway dunk from Taz Sherman with 6:32 to go. Sherman later added a three-pointer to give the Mountaineers an eight-point advantage near the five-minute mark.

A three-pointer from Quisenberry narrowed the West Virginia lead down to five, but Harler hit a jumper to make in 67-60 in favor of the Mountaineers. A couple of fouls on the Mountaineers and turnovers allowed the Penguins to come ti within three points of West Virginia.

Tshiebwe came through with a three-point play which made it a 70-64 advantage for the Mountaineers.

From there, West Virginia was able to put away the Penguins with free throws and avoided the upset loss.

Next up for the Mountaineers is a matchup against No. 5 Ohio State next Sunday at noon ET. The game will be played inside the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.

Final Stats:

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