MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The Wofford men's basketball team struggled with 18th-ranked West Virginia's press and fell on the road, 77-44, Monday night at WVU Coliseum.
 
It got away early. The Mountaineers opened the game ahead 18-2 in the first seven minutes. They scored 16 straight to take the big lead and Wofford never cut the margin back to single digits the rest of the night.
 
WVU entered the game leading the nation in steals (19.0) and turnover margin (+11.5). The Terriers held them below those averages, but West Virginia still forced Wofford into a season-high 21 turnovers off 12 steals. It led to a 27-1 Mountaineer advantage in points off turnovers.
 
Wofford (9-3) also had trouble shooting, ending the game at a season-low 26.8 percent (11-41). West Virginia (11-1) nearly hit 50 percent (27-55) and converted 19-of-23 attempts at the foul line.
 
"West Virginia is good – they're very good," Wofford head coach Mike Young stated. "They're physical on both ends of the court and were good in some areas I thought we could have problems with.
 
"It was not our night, but I did think we did some things very well. We ran some plays and created a good amount of open looks, but we just couldn't get in the basket. West Virginia was responsible for some of that."
 
Junior Spencer Collins and senior Karl Cochran were able to reach double figures scoring. Collins led the Terriers with 12 on 2-of-3 from long range and 4-of-6 from the line. Cochran also hit a pair of threes and was good on both of his foul shots.
 
For the Mountaineers, it was senior Juwan Staten who scored a game-high 17 points and completed his first double-double of the season with 10 rebounds. The Preseason All-American and Wooden Award Top 50 Watch List selection did the majority of his scoring from the charity stripe, hitting 9-of-10 compared to a 4-of-10 showing from the field.
 
Junior Jonathan Holton scored 11 points while freshmen Elijah Macon and Jevon Carter scored 11 and 10 off the bench, respectively, to round out the Mountaineers in double figures.

Holton hit a layup a second before the first half horn to put the Mountaineers up 42-20. Wofford was within 22-11 on a Jaylen Allen 3-pointer at the 5:55 mark, but WVU closed on a 20-9 run, including 10-3 over the final two minutes.

It took five minutes for Wofford to get on the board in the second half. The first field goal didn't come until 13:32 on a Collins three, but the home side was off and running by 26. The lead grew to as much as 40 on three occasions. The final one on a Jaysean Paige fast break opportunity that made it 77-37 with 2:14 remaining.

The Terriers have some days off for the holidays before returning to action on New Year's Eve. It will be a big one as Wofford heads to Cameron Indoor Stadium to battle No. 2 Duke. Tip is set for 3 p.m.

Postgame Notes:
- There were two double-technical fouls issued. The first came at the 9:34 mark of the first half to Wofford's Justin Gordon and WVU's Devin Williams. The second came at the 12:52 mark of the second half to Wofford's Lee Skinner and WVU's Juwan Staten.
- Wofford fell to 0-20 in the Division I era against teams inside the AP Top 25.
- The Terriers were held to season-lows in points (44), field goals made (11), field goal attempts (41), field goal percentage (26.8 pct.), assists (7) and steals (4).
- WVU forced Wofford into a season-high 21 turnovers.
- Attendance at WVU Coliseum was announced at 7,897, the largest Wofford crowd of the season.