WVU Basketball Breezes Past Oklahoma State in Big 12 Home Opener

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Following an icy start, WVU basketball eventually heated up to blow past Oklahoma State, 69-50, Saturday afternoon inside the WVU Coliseum.

The Mountaineers (11-2, 2-0 Big 12) and Cowboys (8-5, 0-2) both struggled to find offense through the first nine minutes of play. West Virginia led by four, 10-6, at the 11:08 mark as the teams had gone five minutes without a field goal.

From there, however, the Mountaineers exploded. Jonathan Powell and Javon Small alternated four-straight three-pointers for a 12-0 run that took less than two minutes to put together. Following an OSU free throw, Small scored five straight points, capped off by a fastbreak dunk, to push WVU’s lead to 20 points, 27-7.

It was all part of a larger 22-1 run by the Mountaineers that had them up by 25, 32-7, with six minutes left before halftime. Oklahoma State was just 2-18 from the floor up to that point. West Virginia led 46-19 at halftime, led by 18 points from Small, who played for Oklahoma State last season. 

WVU’s lead held for the beginning of the second half, but a 17-2 run by Oklahoma State cut it down to 13 points, 57-44, with five minutes to play.  The Mountaineers made just one field goal, a jumper by Eduardo Andre, in that eight-minute stretch.

Small broke up the run with a layup and a pair of free throws before Powell and Toby Okani hit back-to-back three-pointers to put WVU back up by 21 and put the game away.

Small led the Mountaineers with 24 points against his former team. He also had 11 rebounds and four assists. Powell was next with 17 points on five three-pointers. Amani Hansberry, who did not start, finished with six points in his return from an ankle injury.

Sencire Harris made his first three-pointer of the year after starting the season 0-28 from range. He finished with nine points and a pair of treys.

Marchelus Avery led Oklahoma State with 15 points while Abou Ousmane scored 14. Former Mountaineer Pat Suemnick scored three points for the Cowboys. 

WVU basketball concludes its quick home stint with a rematch against Arizona on Tuesday at 7 p.m. WVU beat the Wildcats in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament earlier this season.