West Virginia rebounds from 1st loss, crushes Austin Peay

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Emmitt Matthews Jr. scored 16 points and added 10 rebounds to lead West Virginia to an 84-53 victory over Austin Peay on Thursday night.

Oscar Tshiebwe added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Mountaineers (8-1), who bounced back from their first loss of the season Saturday to St. John’s.

Terry Taylor, the preseason Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year, scored 19 points before fouling out for Austin Peay (4-5). Antwuan Butler added 14 points.

West Virginia went on separate runs of 9-0 and 13-2 in the first half to take a 38-21 halftime lead. Jordan McCabe and Matthews hit 3-pointers in the first minute after the break, and the Mountaineers extended their lead to as many as 35 points.

Ten players scored at least four points for the Mountaineers.

Austin Peay shot 34.5% (19 of 55) from the field, including 7% (1 of 14) from 3-point range.

It marked the Governors’ seventh straight road loss dating to last season, their longest road losing streak since the 2016-17 season.

The Mountaineers held an opponent below 39% shooting from the field for the sixth straight game. West Virginia leads the Big 12 in defensive field goal percentage at 36.4%.

Matthews Jr. is the fourth West Virginia player this season to record a double-double. The others are Tshiebwe, Derek Culver and Jermaine Haley.