• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Baylor cruises past West Virginia in top-20 matchup

Mar 1, 2015 - 1:06 AM Waco, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Taurean Prince scored 20 points off the bench and Rico Gathers recorded a double-double as Baylor won handily, 78-66, and never trailed in a top-20 matchup against injury-depleted West Virginia.

The 19th-ranked Bears (22-7, 10-6 Big 12) have won four in a row, including consecutive wins over ranked opponents for the first time in school history. They were in control from start to finish Saturday and only committed eight turnovers -- nearly 13 less than West Virginia's opponents coming in.

"I am the most pleased with the turnovers. We had eight turnovers against this team, which is outstanding. This has to be their season low in turnovers that they have given up this year," Baylor head coach Scott Drew said.

Gathers totaled 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Royce O'Neale chipped in with 18 points and seven assists in the convincing victory.

West Virginia was without leading scorer Juwan Staten due to a knee injury and lost starting guard Gary Browne three minutes into the game when his ankle was rolled up on during a loose ball scrum.

Jevon Carter led the 20th-ranked Mountaineers (22-7, 10-6) with 25 points.

Both teams trail Big-12 leading Kansas by two games with two left in the regular season. West Virginia plays at Kansas on Tuesday.

The Bears shot a blistering 65.4 percent from the field in a lopsided first half. They scored nine of the game's first 11 points, led by as many as 19 and brought a 45-29 cushion into the break.

West Virginia committed nine turnovers in the first half, the last leading to Gathers' rim-rattling windmill dunk that ignited the home crowd.

"We just had guys out there that had not been out there really or had not been out there by themselves. It is hard to make any adjustments," WVU head coach Bob Huggins said.

The Mountaineers cleaned up their mistakes in the second half, and Baylor cooled off considerably. Still, the deficit never dipped below nine, and Baylor pulled away for good with an 11-3 run. Prince and O'Neale both hit 3- pointers during the string, and the lead grew to 20 down the stretch.

Game Notes

Baylor upended No. 12 Iowa State on Wednesday ... Carter was making his first career start ... The Mountaineers have beaten Baylor just once in seven meetings, including an 87-69 loss in Morgantown earlier this month ... Baylor outscored West Virginia at the foul line 22-8 ... Baylor shot 33 percent from the field in the second half ... West Virginia shot 40.3 percent overall.