West Virginia Ends Skid with win Over Iowa State

Four Mountaineers hit double figures as West Virginia picks up its first win in eight tries after cruising past the Iowa State Cyclones Tuesday night 79-63. West Virginia guard Taz Sherman scored a team-leading 16 points while Jalen Bridges and Malik Curry put up 14, and Sean McNeil produced 13 points.

Mountaineers forward Jalen Bridges hit a three on West Virginia's opening possession of the game, then Kobe Johnson followed it with a corner three as West Virginia grabbed the early 6-0 advantage.

Freshman guard Seth Wilson checked into the game and delivered seven consecutive points as the Mountaineers built a 13-point lead 18-5 at the 12:52 mark of the first half.

West Virginia guard Taz Sherman returned to the lineup after missing one game due to a concussion and produced 10 first half points and six rebounds to maintain a double-digit lead at the break, 39-28.

Heading into halftime, Mountaineers forward Gabe Osabuohien was called for a technical foul. Iowa State guard Isaiah Brockington hit the pair of free throws to begin the second half to cut the deficit to nine.

On the other hand, West Virginia turned defense to offense to begin the half. First, bridges used his length to get to an over-the-head pass, leading to a foul and a couple of free throws. Then, Sherman dove on the floor for the steal before dishing to Kedrian Johnson for the slam dunk, igniting a 9-0 run and pushing the lead to 18.

The pace of the game was slowed with fouls beginning to pile up for both squads and the Mountaineers were just 3-10 from the field in the first minutes of second half action as Iowa State was able to dwindle the lead down to 10 with 7:25 remaining in the game.

West Virginia answered with a pair of threes to extend the lead back up to 15, but a 7-0 run kicked off by a Tyrese Hunter three cut the deficit to eight with under five minutes left to play.

Desperate for a basket, West Virginia fought for back-to-back offensive rebounds, setting up a couple of free throws for Malik Curry to go back up 10.

The Mountaineers went 20-23 from the free throw line in the second half to maintain their lead and win comfortably 79-63.

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