WVU Basketball Tops Utah With Complete Team Effort

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — WVU basketball played a complete team game in a 72-61 win over Utah Sunday evening in the Coliseum.

Four Mountaineers finished with double-digit points as West Virginia (15-8, 6-6 Big 12) beat Utah (13-10, 5-7) in its first-ever trip to Morgantown.

Initially, it looked like the Mountaineers were going to fall into the kind of slow start that plagued them so much in January. Utah scored the first six points of the game, but back-to-back three-pointers by Amani Hansberry and Javon Small knotted the game up and injected some juice into the sellout Coliseum crowd.

That kicked off a 15-4 run by West Virginia that put the hosts up 15-10 after eight minutes of play. Utah came out of the second media timeout firing, however, as the Utes scored six quick points to retake a 16-15 lead.

Matching each others’ physical style of play, the two teams went back and forth for a few minutes until the game was tied 24-24 four minutes before halftime.

Toby Okani then keyed a 12-3 run to close that half and put the Mountaineers up 36-27 at the break. Okani began the run with a layup and closed it with a block and transition three-pointer in the final minute of play.

Utah came out shooting well in the second half, but the Mountaineers were able to do something that has eluded them the last several games, get to the free throw line.

WVU made 13 free throws in the game, including 11 in the second half alone. That was the most free throws the Mountaineers have made in their last five games and it helped them build upon their halftime lead.

Seven of WVU’s first 14 points in the second half came from the line. Jonathan Powell’s three-pointer pushed the lead to 14, 53-39.

Utah made one final bid at a comeback with an 11-3 run over a four-minute stretch, to get as close at six, 56-54. A layup and three-pointer by Jake Wahlin later cut WVU’s lead down to five, 64-59.

That was as close as Utah would get, however, as another triple from Powel and free throws by Javon Small brought WVU’s lead back up to a dozen in the final two minutes.

Amani Hansberry led the Mountaineers with 17 points, scoring inside and out with a trio of three-pointers. Small finished with 14 points to go with eight assists. Yesufu scored 14, Powell finished with 11 and Okani had nine.

Freshman KJ Tenner hit a floater in the first half to score his first points since Dec. 31.

Keanu Dawes paces Utah with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Wahlin finished with 10 points.

WVU basketball stays home to host another team from out West, BYU Tuesday at 7 p.m.