West Virginia starts 0-4 in Big 12

Robert Morris loses at LIU Brooklyn, snapping four-game winning streak

From local and wire dispatches

West Virginia got as close as three midway through the second half but Oklahoma State held on and beat the host Mountaineers, 85-77, Saturday, to send them to their first 0-4 start in conference play in 23 years.

They lost to Pitt, Georgetown, Connecticut and St. John’s to begin their inaugural Big East Conference season in 1995-96.

“We have to be all on the same page and we all have to be working for the same goal,” coach Bob Huggins said.

James “Beetle” Bolden led the Mountaineers (8-8, 0-4 Big 12) with a career-high 31 points. Freshman phenom Derek Culver posted his third double-double of the season with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Lamont West added 13 points.

Isaac Likekele scored a career-high 23 points with nine rebounds to lead Oklahoma State (8-8, 2-2).

Regular Mountaineer starters Wesley Harris and Esa Ahamd did not play.

“All of those guys are like my kids just like all of the guys I’ve had in the past,” Huggins said about not playing Harris and Ahmad. “As a parent sometimes, you want more for your children than they want for themselves and that’s a very frustrating situation to be in.”

Konate, Harris and Ahmad account for 37 percent of West Virginia’s scoring and 35 percent of their rebounding.

Sagaba Konate also sat out his seventh consecutive game with a knee injury.

More men

LIU Brooklyn 80, Robert Morris 73: The Blackbirds (88, 2-2 Northeast Conference) shot 65 percent from the field in the second half to snap the visiting Colonials’ fourgame winning streak.

Senior guard Josh Williams led Robert Morris (8-9, 3-1) with 20 points. The Colonials led, 41-37, at the half, but the Blackbirds went on a 13-4 run midway through the second half.

“We’re better at 52-49 than we are at 80-73,” Robert Morris coach Andrew Toole said. “We never were able to play Robert Morris basketball. They dictated the pace, the tempo and the shots we took.”

Williams entered the game shooting 1 for 15 from beyond the arc in the conference but went 4 of 8 against LIU Brooklyn. Sophomore forward Charles Bain finished with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 3 for 5 from 3-point range.

Women

Robert Morris 75, St. Francis Brooklyn 56: The Colonials scored a season-high in points and matched its high in 3-pointers against the host Terriers. Junior center Nneka Ezeigbo had 16 points and 15 rebounds for Robert Morris (6-8, 3-0 NEC). St. Francis Brooklyn (8-7, 2-1) entered the game leading the conference in scoring, fieldgoal percentage and 3-point percentage. “It was a hardfought effort,” said Robert Morris coach Charlie Buscaglia.

Penn State 62, Illinois 48: Alisia Smith had teamhighs of 14 points and 11 rebounds and the host Nittany Lions outscored the Illini, 2112, in the fourth quarter. Penn State (9-7, 2-3 Big Ten) limited Illinois (9-7, 1-4) to just 33 percent shooting from the field and 19 percent on 3pointers.