Mountaineers Second Half Surge Buries Penguins

Sean McNeil and Taz Sherman heat up in the second half as West Virginia cruises past Youngstown State

The West Virginia Mountaineers handled the Youngstown State Penguins Wednesday night 82-52. WVU guard Sean McNeil led all scorers with 23 points, all coming in the second half, while guard Taz Sherman put up 16. 

West Virginia started 1-14 from the floor before, coming out of the under 12-minute media timeout, guard Malik Curry hit a jumper from the right elbow to get within one of Youngstown State 7-6. 

West Virginia trailed 13-9 with under eight minutes remaining in the game before putting together a 10-2 run capped off by by a Kedrian Johnson jumper and holding a 19-15 lead with under five minutes remaining in the half. 

The Mountaineers came into the game shooting 60.6% from the line but went 10-12 in the first half to hold a one-point advantage at the break 24-23.

Sherman got off to a quick start in the second half with a pair of threes to put West Virginia up eight but Penguins guard Chris Shelton answered with a couple of threes to keep Youngstown State within a possession 31-34.

After being held scoreless in the first half, Sean McNeil buried four consecutive threes in the midst of a 17-2 run, extending the Mountaineers lead to 18 with 12:33 remaining in the game. 

West Virginia maintained a 20-point advantage, building their largest lead in the final score 82-52. 

West Virginia is back in action on New Years Day as they travel to Texas in the first of a two-game road trip to begin Big 12 Conference Play at noon and will be televised on ESPNU.

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