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Wiggins, No. 8 Kansas pull away from WVU

Feb 9, 2014 - 1:36 AM Lawrence, KS (SportsNetwork.com) - Andrew Wiggins poured in 19 points and Kansas freshmen contributed 52 in No. 8 Kansas' 83-69 triumph over West Virginia on Saturday.

Wayne Selden, Jr. netted 17 on 5-of-7 shooting and Joel Embiid posted 11 points with 12 rebounds and three blocks for Kansas (18-5, 9-1 Big 12), which has now beaten 111 straight unranked foes at Allen Fieldhouse. Tarik Black needed just three field goal attempts for 11 points, and Frank Mason handed out a game-high five assists.

"We have good chemistry as a team," Black said. "You look at our stats; we are an unselfish team and we all play well together when we get out there on the floor."

Juwan Staten and Eron Harris provided most of the offense for WVU (14-10, 6-5), which had won three straight tilts. Staten scored a game-high 22 points while Harris donated 17.

West Virginia shot just 6-of-23 from 3-point range and was outrebounded, 37-28, in the setback.

Kansas led by five after Black's three-point play 6 1/2 minutes in and 17-11 on a Jamari Traylor layup, but Harris shot WVU back in it. The sophomore gunner made three straight from the arc to keep it tight.

The Jayhawks came alive trailing 30-27 late in the period. Selden drained a pair of 3s to highlight a 14-2 Kansas surge. The Mountaineers got four back from the free throw line, but Wiggins' putback slam in the final seconds put the finishing touches on a 43-36 Jayhawks halftime edge.

Twice WVU got back within two, on Nathan Adrian's 3-pointer 3:47 into the second half and Brandon Watkins' jumper minutes later, but the visitors never got over the hump.

The Jayhawks' lead reached double figures on Selden's free throw at 7:47. Perry Ellis followed with a jam from Selden for a 68-56 margin.

It was back down to four after two Harris free throws capped a 9-1 WVU sprint, but again Kansas had an answer. Wiggins split a pair at the line, Embiid converted two and at 2:45, Naadir Tharpe calmly sank a triple from NBA range to make it 77-66.

Kansas led comfortably the rest of the way.

"We were attacking the basket and hitting open shots," Harris said of his squad hanging tough. "I think there was a certain point in the game that we couldn't hit shots when we had open opportunities, but that happens though."

Game Notes

Wiggins has gone to the free throw line at least 10 times in three of his last six games ... Kansas outscored WVU 46-18 in the paint ... The Jayhawks' last five wins have all been by double figures ... Staten and Harris each had four turnovers.