Field Level Media
Feb 4, 2023
Erik Stevenson made six 3-pointers and scored 23 of his career-high 34 points in the first half as West Virginia snapped a seven-game losing streak to visiting Oklahoma with Saturday night's 93-61 rout at Morgantown, W.Va.
Stevenson scored the game's first two points and never let up, going 9 of 14 from the field, including 5 of 8 from beyond the 3-point arc, in the first half.
Stevenson, who entered averaging a team-high 14.0 points for his fourth school in five seasons, finished 13 of 23 overall and 6 of 11 from beyond the arc, as the Mountaineers (14-9, 3-7 in Big 12) beat Oklahoma for the first time since March 13, 2019.
Kedrian Johnson added 16 points for West Virginia, which shot 54.5 percent and went 7 of 12 from distance while scoring their most points in the first half to lead 56-30 at the break. The Mountaineers, who held the Sooners to just 37.3 percent shooting, have won three of their last four.
The Sooners (12-11, 2-8), who edged West Virginia 77-76 on Jan. 14, made their first four shots Saturday. Then went 6 of 23 the rest of the first half.
Grant Sherfield had 16 points for Oklahoma, which was outscored 24-9 on points off turnovers.
Oklahoma, which beat then-No. 2 Alabama 93-69 last weekend, has dropped five straight in the Big 12 by an average margin of 17.4 points.
An 8-0 run gave West Virginia a 25-14 lead, but back-to-back 3s from Sherfield got the Sooners within 25-22 with just over seven minutes remaining in the opening half. However, Stevenson and Johnson owned a 7-0 run for the Mountaineers. The pair combined for seven more points during a late 13-0 surge to go up 15. Stevenson's layup gave them the 26-point cushion at halftime.
After the Sooners scored the first four points of the second half, Stevenson posted the game's next five. Stevenson, who netted West Virginia's first eight points of the final half, topped his previous career high of 31 set last Saturday during an 80-77 home victory over then-No. 15 Auburn.
--Field Level Media