MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP)—Da’Sean Butler scored 21 points to lead West Virginia to a 75-52 win over St. John’s on Wednesday night.
The Mountaineers (15-5, 4-3 Big East Conference) used a stifling defensive effort in the first half to build a 36-20 halftime lead. WVU scored 13 points off of 13 Red Storm turnovers and limited St. John’s to just 34 percent shooting from the field in the opening half.
West Virginia pushed its lead to 31 points on a 3-pointer with 5:38 remaining in the second half. St. John’s was never able to trim the deficit to less than 16 points.
Alex Ruoff added 17 for the Mountaineers, while Devin Ebanks chipped in 10.
Paris Horne led St. John’s (11-9, 2-6) with 16 points, while D.J. Kennedy netted 14.
Updated Wednesday, Jan 28, 2009
