Javon Small scored 14 of his 19 points in the first half, and Joseph Yesufu added 16 to help West Virginia defeat Cincinnati 63-50 on Sunday afternoon in Big 12 action in Cincinnati.
Small, the conference’s leading scorer at 19.0 points per game, hit 4 of 7 from 3-point range for West Virginia (14-7, 5-5 Big 12), which shot 49.0 percent from the field to end a three-game losing streak.
Day Day Thomas led Cincinnati (12-9, 2-8) with 10 points in their fourth consecutive loss. After a 10-1 start and a No. 14 ranking, the Bearcats have now lost 8 of their last 10 games.
With both teams struggling on three-game losing streaks, West Virginia came out more focused and executed better.
The Mountaineers went on a 14-2 run midway through the first half, taking a 25-13 lead with 8:16 left in the half.
West Virginia capitalized on nine turnovers by Cincinnati in the first half, turning them into 10 points.
Yesufu closed out a strong first half for West Virginia with a wide-open 3-pointer just before halftime, giving the Mountaineers a 40-25 lead.
Cincinnati briefly cut the lead to 45-33 after two free throws from Rayvon Griffith at the 14:03 mark, but West Virginia responded with a 14-4 run, including two 3-pointers from Yesufu, to extend the lead to 59-37 with 7:47 remaining.
Cincinnati committed 14 turnovers in total after entering the game with four straight games of single-digit turnovers. West Virginia had 13 turnovers, leading to 13 points for Cincinnati.
