Sean McNeil scores 16 points, No. 10 West Virginia beats K-State

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Sean McNeil scored 16 points, and No. 10 West Virginia used a two big second-half runs to beat Kansas State, 65-43, on Saturday.

Derek Culver added 11 points for West Virginia (17-6, 10-4 Big 12).

Davion Bradford scored 11 points, and Mike McGuirl had 10 for Kansas State (7-19, 3-14). The Wildcats were held to their second-lowest points total of the season.

West Virginia scored the first seven points of the second half. Jordan McCabe, who started the game in place of leading scorer Miles McBride, scored all seven of his points during a 17-0 run that gave the Mountaineers their largest lead, 59-34 with 5 minutes, 14 seconds remaining.

Both teams started without their point guards. Kansas State freshman Nijel Pack, the team’s leading scorer, sat out with an eye infection. McBride was banged up in practice and missed the first eight minutes of Saturday’s game. He was held to five points.

With McBride limited and teammates Culver and Jalen Bridges getting into early foul trouble, West Virginia was sluggish in the first half. Bradford took advantage of Culver’s absence with seven first-half points, and the Wildcats trailed 26-22 at halftime.

In the teams’ last meeting, Jan. 23, Kansas State committed 28 turnovers and lost 69-47 in Manhattan, Kan. The Wildcats committed 18 turnovers Saturday, which led to 23 points for West Virginia.

The Mountaineers got off to a good start as part of a four-game home blitz over eight days to finish the regular season. The Mountaineers have won six of their last seven overall, including wins over No. 7 Texas Tech, No. 12 Texas and No. 23 Kansas.

Coach Bob Huggins earned his 898th career win, just behind North Carolina’s Roy Williams. Both could reach Bob Knight’s 902 victories this season.