Amani Hansberry scored 17 points and West Virginia closed out strong to take a 72-61 home victory over Utah in Morgantown on Saturday.
Javon Small totaled 14 points and eight assists, Joseph Yesufu added 14 points and Jonathan Powell scored his 11 points in the second half to lift the Mountaineers (15-8, 6-6 Big 12).
Powell ignited a game-clinching 8-0 run with under three minutes left by hitting a dagger from 3-point range. He capped the spurt with a free throw for a 13-point lead with 56 seconds to go.
Keanu Dawes led the Utes (13-10, 5-7) with 14 points and 11 rebounds off the bench, but Utah couldn’t complete its comeback after going cold in the final minutes. It was the team’s fourth loss in six outings.
Jake Wahlin was the only other Utah player in double figures with 10 points. The Utes’ leading scorer, Gabe Madsen, was limited to seven points and the team shot 41.1 percent in its first-ever game at West Virginia.
West Virginia led by as many as 14 when Powell connected on a 3-pointer for a 53-39 lead with 12:38 remaining.
The Utes chipped away at that advantage, pulling within five points after Wahlin drained a 3-pointer with three minutes left.
Utah missed four shots in a row, committed a turnover and didn’t score for 2 1/2 minutes during the Mountaineers’ late scoring spurt.
West Virginia quickly erased Utah’s 6-0 start with eight straight points, including back-to-back 3s from Hansberry and Small.
The Mountaineers seized a 36-27 halftime lead by holding the Utes scoreless for the final 2:58 while going on their own 7-0 run.
West Virginia has won two of three since its three-game losing streak.
Powell and Hansberry each pulled down seven rebounds for West Virginia.
The Mountaineers shot 48.1 percent from the field, including 9 of 24 from 3-point range. That helped make up for a rough free-throw shooting night as they only made 13 of 23 foul shots (56.5 percent).
–Field Level Media
