Amani Hansberry scored 17 points, West Virginia cruises past Utah 72-61

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- — Amani Hansberry scored 17 points to lead West Virginia to 72-61 victory over Utah on Saturday night.

Hansberry made three 3-pointers and finished 6-of-10 shooting from the field. Javon Small added 14 points and eight assists for West Virginia (15-8, 6-6 Big 12). Joseph Yesufu also scored 14 points and Jonathan Powell had 11.

The Mountaineers have won two of its last three since ending a three-game skid.

Keanu Dawes scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Utah (13-10, 5-7 Big 12). Jake Wahlin added 10 points.

West Virginia closed the first half on a 12-3 run for a 36-27 advantage. Toby Okani scored all nine of his points in the first half to pace West Virginia.

The Mountaineers had their largest lead, 53-39 with 12:38 left. The Utes cut the deficit to 64-59 with 3:00 remaining before Powell answered with a 3-pointer to help the Mountaineers pull away.

It was the first meeting between the teams since Utah beat the Mountaineers 65-62 in a Sweet 16 matchup at the NCAA Tournament on March 19, 1998.

On Tuesday, West Virginia hosts BYU while Utah plays at Cincinnati.

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