No. 20 West Virginia holds off Oklahoma State
By Matthew DeTitta | Sat, 03/07/2015 - 18:34
Devin Williams had 22 points and 13 rebounds to lead No. 20 West Virginia over Oklahoma State 81-72 despite the absence of Gary Browne and Juwan Staten. Williams did most of his damage from the free throw line, where he was 14-of-15.
Daxter Miles Jr. finished with 15 points for the Mountaineers, making 3 of 6 shots from beyond the arc.
Jeff Newberry had 23 points to lead Oklahoma State.
WVU was again without two of their best players in Staten and Browne, but that wasn’t enough for the Cowboys to come into Morgantown and get the victory. Staten missed his third straight game with a left knee injury. Browne sprained his left ankle in a loss a week ago at No. 14 Baylor. The Mountaineers have swept Oklahoma State for the first time since joining the Big 12.
The win gives WVU (23-8, 11-7 Big 12) their best season since they won 24 games during their Final Four run in 2010. They also ended a two-game losing streak.
“We must have told them a million times that we’ve never lost three in a row,” said WVU head coach Bob Huggins. “They’re not going to let the season go. They’re too competitive to do that.”
The Mountaineers forced 15 turnovers and added six steals to finish the regular season as the NCAA leader in steals per game.
The Mountaineers head into the conference tournament tied for fourth place with Baylor. Their next game will be on day two of the Big 12 Tournament on Thursday in Kansas City, Missouri.
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