West Virginia 72, Radford 62: Aaric Murray scored a season-high 23 points as the host Mountaineers pulled away late in the second half and defeated the Highlanders.
Murray shot 8-for-16 from the field and scored 14 of his points in the second half as the Mountaineers (6-5) outscored the Highlanders 41-35 in the second half. He also added eight rebounds and was the lone player in double figures for West Virginia, which has won two straight.
Javonte Green scored 17 points and Blake Smith added 13 for Radford (5-7), which committed 17 turnovers.
West Virginia went ahead for good with 4:26 remaining in the first half on Murray's jumper. Murray scored six straight points in a span of 70 seconds while Terry Henderson had a 3-pointer and a dunk as the Mountaineers took a 31-27 lead into intermission.
Radford took a 49-48 lead on Kion Brown's jumper with 9:10 left but Gary Browne scored five straight points and Murray converted another layup for a 55-49 edge with 8:22 left. The Mountaineers sealed the win on Browne's layup with 3:48 left that gave them a 13-point lead.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Murray hit the 20-point mark for the 10th time in his career and first time since a 22-point performance for LaSalle against Temple on March 11, 2011. ... The Mountaineers have won all five meetings in the series but this was the first one decided by less than 30 points. ... West Virginia coach Bob Huggins is three victories away from passing Don Haskins for 19th place on the Division I all-time wins list.
Radford | West Virginia | |
Javonte Green 17 | Scoring | Aaric Murray 23 |
Rashun Davis 7 | Assists | Aaric Murray 4 |
Javonte Green 10 | Rebounds | Aaric Murray 8 |
Javonte Green 5 | Free Throws Made | Aaric Murray 7 |
Taj Owens 2 | Steals | Aaric Murray 3 |
Jalen Carethers 1 | Blocks | Keaton Miles 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Radford | 62 | 42.9 | 3-18 | 11-16 | 12 | 29 | 1 | 6 | 17 |
West Virginia | 72 | 45.8 | 3-12 | 25-35 | 16 | 31 | 3 | 5 | 14 |