Mountaineers overcome sluggish start to beat NKU 92-61

Tarik Phillip led WVU with 16 points to lead the 11th-ranked Mountaineers to a 92-61 win over the much-improved Northern Kentucky Norse.

West Virginia (11-1) started in a slump early as they fell to a 12-4 deficit within the first three and a half minutes. Phillip led the Mountaineers on a bit of a scoring run that brought the score to a 17-15 WVU advantage at the second media timeout.

The Mountaineers and Northern Kentucky (9-4) traded the lead throughout the remainder of the first half. A Jevon Carter three and two Daxter Miles free throws right before halftime gave WVU a little bit of momentum and a 36-29 lead going into the locker room.

The momentum continued as the Mountaineers started out on a 12-2 scoring run from which the Norse never recovered.

Teyvon Meyers, Esa Ahmad and Carter finished the game in double figures. Nathan Adrian was just short of a double-double with 9 points and 8 rebounds.

Elijah Macon left the game in the second half with an apparent knee injury. He could not walk off of the court under his own power, so Adrian took care of that for him.

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Northern Kentucky out-rebounded the Mountaineers 33-30.

West Virginia has some time off and returns to action next Friday when they’ll kick off Big 12 play at Oklahoma State. Tip is set for 4 ET on ESPN2.