West Virginia Vs. Rutgers: WVU Withstands Rutgers Rally In Second Half, Wins By 21

With most Mountaineers fans’ eyes on the football team in the Orange Bowl against Clemson, the West Virginia men’s basketball team rode a dominant first half to knock off Rutgers, 85-64.

The Mountaineers took a 25-point lead into halftime as Truck Bryant and Kevin Jones proved to be too much for the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers then scored 10 straight points to open the second half, bu the Mountaineers still managed to hold Rutgers at arm’s length.

Bryant scored 29 points, shooting 4-for-5 from behind the arc and 11-for-13 from the line. Deniz Kilicli, Kevin Jones, Jabarie Hinds and Aaron Brown also scored in double digits for the Mountaineers. Eli Carter led Rutgers with 19 points.

West Virginia hosts No. 9 Georgetown on Saturday, then travels to face No. 8 UConn before facing off against Rutgers again next week.

For more on WVU basketball, be sure to check out the Smoking Musket.

West Virginia Vs. Rutgers Score Update: 'Eers Dominate First Half, 51-26

The West Virginia Mountaineers were looking to rebound from a loss to Seton Hall as they visited Rutgers, and rebound they did. In the first half, West Virginia jumped out to a 51-26 lead over the Scarlett Knights. Darryl Bryant dominated the first half, picking up 16 points, three steals, and two rebounds. Forward Kevin Jones dominated the board with seven rebounds and eight points, and Aaron Brown was able to kick in 11 points off the bench.

For Rutgers, they were out rebounded in the first half and turned the ball over way too many times. Guard Eli Carter led Rutgers in scoring in the first half, picking up eight points but turned the ball over four times. Guard Myles Mack also picked up five points off the bench, but Rutgers is going to need a lot more in the second half to get back into the game.

Stay tuned to SBNation Pittsburgh and to the Smoking Musket for more coverage of Mountaineer basketball. For more on Rutgers, visit SB Nation's Rutgers blog On The Banks.

West Virginia Vs. Rutgers: Mountaineers Look To Bounce Back After Loss

The Mountaineers try to bounce back from a tough road loss against Rutgers at the RAC.