Oakland vs. West Virginia final score: Mountaineers survive in 76-71 win

With a 4-5 record entering Wednesday, it's been a rare bad start to the season for Bob Huggins and West Virginia. But things nearly went from bad to worse, as the Mountaineers barely hung on for a 76-71 win over Oakland.

The game was tied at 71 with just over a minute to play before Gary Browne hit a jumper. After the basket, Oakland did not score for the rest of the game.

West Virginia, who is now 3-0 at home, received a nice performance from Aaric Murray. The junior had 12 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in the victory.

In defeat, Oakland was led by 25 points from Travis Bader. Entering the game, Bader was averaging 19.6 points per game.

West Virginia will now have games against Radford and Eastern Kentucky before beginning conference play on Jan. 5. Incidentally, West Virginia already played Oklahoma in Old Spice Classic and lost, 77-70.