Box Score MORGANTOWN, W.VA. – West Virginia simply didn't have an answer for Isaac Likekele.
 
Oklahoma State's unlikely hero scored a career-high 23 points and Cameron McGriff added 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Cowboys to an 85-77 victory here at the WVU Coliseum this afternoon.
 
Likekele, who came into today's game averaging 7.1 points, 16 above his averaging by shooting seven-of-10 from the floor, mostly on straight-line drives to the rim. He also made nine-of-11 from the free throw line and overall the Cowboys converted 23-of-31 from there.
 
"We let (Likekele) continue to play to his strengths," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. "He's got great size and great strength and we let him continue to drive it close to where he was very effective. We've got to find a way to stay in front of people."
 
It was Oklahoma State's second straight win to even its record to 8-8 and 2-2 in Big 12 play, and it was also the third straight victory for the Cowboys at the WVU Coliseum.
 
Oklahoma State's 5-2 record in Morgantown is the best of any Big 12 team since West Virginia joined the conference in 2012.
 
For the struggling Mountaineers, it was their fourth straight conference defeat and their overall record now drops to 8-8.
 
Huggins, who used a starting lineup today consisting of Beetle Bolden, Jermaine Haley, Chase Harler, Lamont West and Logan Routt and did not play regulars Esa Ahmad and Wesley Harris, also used true freshman guard Trey Doomes for the first time this year seeking a spark.
 
"It's hard throwing him into a conference game but I didn't think we had any choice," Huggins said.
 
Huggins addressed his decision not to play Ahmad and Harris this afternoon on his postgame radio show.
 
"As a parent, there are many times you want more for your kids than they want," Huggins explained. "You become very frustrated when you don't think they can achieve some of the things they have the ability to achieve. My guys have always been like my sons and I get frustrated when I feel like they don't want what's out there for them.
 
"Sometimes you have to take things away that you don't really want to take away and it hurts you as much as it hurts them. Generally speaking they come back a whole lot better for it."
 
Huggins said he expects both to practice tomorrow afternoon.
 
At one point in the first half he had four freshmen on the floor at the same time with Doomes, Derek Culver, Jordan McCabe and Emmitt Matthews Jr. out there.
 
WVU missed its first seven shots but was able to hang around until the Cowboys began to take control late in the first half. Five straight McGriff points gave Oklahoma State a 28-22 lead, and consecutive 3s from Maurice Calloo and Curtis Jones built the margin to 10.
 
A Jones 3 and some free throws gave the Cowboys an 11-point halftime advantage.
 
West scored the first eight points of the second half for West Virginia, and then Bolden added five more to make it a two-point game with 11:39 remaining.
 
But Oklahoma State answered with a 15-7 run to build its lead back to 10 - eight of those coming from Likekele. 
 
The Cowboys' biggest lead was 12, 75-63, with 3:48 remaining.
 
The two areas where the Mountaineers have been struggling most – turnovers and free throw shooting – were much improved this afternoon. West Virginia made 19-of-24 from the line for 79.2 percent and only turned the ball over six times – 10 below its season average.
 
But WVU couldn't stop Likekele's drives to the basket and failed to cover Oklahoma State's 3-point shooters, the Cowboys finishing 8-of-17 from behind the arc for 47.1 percent.
 
West Virginia also struggled with its outside shot by missing 23 of its 29 triple attempts and finishing the afternoon shooting just 38.8 percent.
 
The Mountaineers had a 43-36 advantage on the glass but 18 of those rebounds came off of missed shots.
 
Bolden, who scored just two points in the first half, finished with a career-high 31, including 22 of the Mountaineers' final 25 points of the game.
 
Culver had his third double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds, boosting his season averages to 12.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Mountaineer fans held their breath when they watched Culver fall to the floor in pain with 3:48 left when he got his arm yanked by Calloo underneath the basket battling for a rebound. But he was able to return to the floor shortly afterward.
 
"This has been a hard, hard year, when Sags is in and Sags is out, and Sags is out," Huggins said. "Beetle's in and Beetle's out. Beetle's healthy and Beetle's hurt. I thought Derek dislocated his shoulder and I'm thinking, 'Oh my God here we go again.' I think he just got a stinger, but we've just had so many things and so many distractions."
 
As for Konate, Huggins has nothing new to report on his injured knee, although the forward is no longer using crutches.
 
On the horizon for West Virginia is 25^th-ranked TCU, which is playing at Oklahoma today. WVU takes on the Horned Frogs Tuesday night in Fort Worth.
 
"Like I told (his players), Brad Underwood took the Oklahoma State job and lost his first six league games and came back and finished 9-9," Huggins said. "A lot of it is just a frame of mind."

Late in the first half, new West Virginia University football coach Neal Brown and his family were introduced to the fans.

An announced crowd of 11,339 attended today's game.