MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia used 27 points, six rebounds and six assists from senior guard Javon Small to defeat Bethune-Cookman 84-61 Saturday night at the WVU Coliseum.

It was Small's second-highest scoring effort of the season and the the fifth time he's topped 20 points this year. He has reached double figures in all 10 games as well.
 
The Mountaineers had a balanced scoring attack with four players reaching double figures. Amani Hansberry tallied 16, Jonathan Powell contributed 14 and Sencire Harris added a season-high 12.
 
West Virginia, which led by as many as 20 points in the first half, saw its lead trimmed to six four minutes into the second half. But the Mountaineers scored seven in a row to push it back to 13 and kept the margin above double digits for the remainder of the game.
 
"We were able to build up a pretty good lead in the first half and then there was a long stretch from that point on until late in the second half when we couldn't quite find our rhythm," West Virginia coach Darian DeVries said. 
 
WVU didn't grab its first offensive rebound until Hansberry hauled down a Harris missed with 14:34 left in the second half and was out-boarded by the Wildcats, 39 to 35.
 
The Mountaineers (8-2) made 17 free throws in a row until Hansberry missed his second attempt with 3:28 left. 
 
West Virginia finished the game connecting on 20 of 22 from the charity stripe.
 
After shooting 51.7% in the first half, the Mountaineers cooled off after intermission and ended the game making 27 of 58 field goal attempts for 46.6%.
 
WVU was outscored 32 to 30 in the paint and 13 to 9 off turnovers.
 
"We fouled a little too much and the game got a little choppy because there was a lot of free throws and there was no flow to it and it was hard for us to get going," DeVries said. "We've got to play with more discipline and keep our hands back."
 
West Virginia did convert 10 of its 26 attempts from 3-point distance, Powell leading the way with four. Small made two and one each came from Hansberry, Toby Okani, Joseph Yesufu and Jake Auer.
 
It was the second game without second-leading scorer Tucker DeVries, who is nursing an undisclosed upper body injury. Powell got his first career start tonight in place of DeVries.
 
"I thought the last five minutes we really dug in defensively, the talk was a little better and we got some transition baskets to really extend it and feel more comfortable," DeVries said.
 
Brayon Freeman led Bethune-Cookman with 14 points.
 
The Wildcats dropped to 2-8 with the loss.
 
An announced crowd of 9,651 attended tonight's game.
 
West Virginia concludes its four-game homestand on Sunday, Dec. 22, against Mercyhurst. Following the Christmas break, WVU will begin Big 12 play at 10^th-ranked Kansas on Tuesday, Dec. 31.