Brooklyn, NY – Trey Burke poured in a game-high 27 points to go with eight assists as No. 3 Michigan handled West Virginia, 81-66, Saturday at Barclays Center.
Burke's backcourt mate, Tim Hardaway Jr., added 25 points on 4-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc for the Wolverines (11-0), who are off to their best start since 1988-89 -- when they also began 11-0 en route to their first and only national championship.
"It wasn't always pretty, but it sure felt good to get the win," said Michigan coach John Beilein, who guided the Mountaineers to a 104-60 mark as their head coach from 2003-07 and was facing his former club for the first time.
Terry Henderson paced West Virginia (4-5) with 23 points, while Juwan Staten donated 12 points in the setback, the Mountaineers' second in a row.
"We'll win; we've won before and we'll win again," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins remarked. "We've got to continue to guard better and we've got to continue to rebound the ball better."
Michigan came out scorching from long range, knocking down a trio of 3- pointers to help build a 13-2 edge just over two minutes into the contest.
The Wolverines held on to their double-digit advantage for much of the half until Henderson poured in seven straight points on the tail end of a 10-0 West Virginia run, bringing the visitors within 32-27 with 4:23 left in the half.
Michigan had the final say, however, as the Wolverines held the Mountaineers without a field goal over the final three-plus minutes of the half and scored nine of the final 12 points in the frame to build a 43-32 lead at the break.
A 9-2 start to the second half found the Wolverines in front by 18, but West Virginia wouldn't go quietly. The Mountaineers used a 14-4 surge later in the frame to pull within single digits for the first time since the first half.
Staten capped the spurt with a steal and fast-break dunk, making the score 69-61 with just over five minutes remaining.
Henderson then nailed a triple on West Virginia's next touch to cut it to seven, but the Wolverines held the Mountaineers without a bucket from the field over the final 4 1/2 minutes to hang on for the victory.
Game Notes
It was the first-ever meeting between West Virginia and Michigan in men's basketball ... Michigan forward Jon Horford injured his left knee in the first half and did not return. He finished with one point and two rebounds ... Michigan shot 56 percent (28-of-50) from the field and held West Virginia to 38.5 percent (20-of-52) from the floor.
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