The Sports Xchange
Nov 30, 2017
On a night when Jevon Carter became West Virginia's career steals leader, the point guard also flashed plenty of offense, scoring 16 of his 25 points in the first half to lead the No. 19 Mountaineers to a 102-69 victory over NJIT on Thursday at WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, W.Va.
Carter made 5 of 11 shots from 3-point range, sank all six free throws and finished with a team-leading nine rebounds, six assists and five steals.
Carter broke Greg Jones' career steals mark with No. 252 late in the first half, leading to a transition dunk by Teddy Allen.
Allen finished with 16 points and eight rebounds off the bench for West Virginia (7-1).
Anthony Tarke scored 13 points and Diandre Wilson finished with 12 for NJIT (4-3). The Highlanders had their three-game winning streak snapped.
Using a 17-5 run late in the first half, West Virginia took a 49-33 cushion into halftime.
The game became a blowout in the opening four minutes of the second half when 15 consecutive points gave the Mountaineers a 64-35 lead.
Lamont West added 13 points, Beetle Bolden scored 12 and Wesley Harris had 11 as West Virginia forced 18 turnovers and had nine steals with its pressing defense.
Sagaba Konate blocked five shots and had five rebounds for West Virginia.
The Mountaineers shot 49.3 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from 3-point range. NJIT finished at 40.4 percent from the floor and 35.3 percent on 3-pointers.
West Virginia outrebounded NJIT 42-34.
Winners of seven straight, the Mountaineers will take four days off before hosting No. 18 Virginia. The Highlanders play host to Massachusetts Lowell on Sunday.