Charleston, WV (SportsNetwork.com) - Jonathan Holton scored 14 points, including 11 in the second half, to help No. 22 West Virginia sneak past rival Marshall 69-66 on Sunday.
Holton scored eight of his points at the free throw line for the Mountaineers (9-1) while pulling down six rebounds. Jevon Carter also had 14 points and six boards.
Juwan Staten led West Virginia with 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting.
The Thundering Herd (3-6) lost their sixth straight game despite getting a game-high 18 points from Justin Edmonds, who shot 4-of-6 from 3-point range and added six assists and six rebounds.
Marshall outshot West Virginia 50 percent to 38.6 percent, but the Herd lost the turnover battle 24-15 and allowed the Mountaineers to score 33 points off those miscues.
"These moral victories have to stop. We have to start putting W's in the column and I think this team will grow to that," Marshall head coach Dan D'Antoni said.
The Herd held a persistent lead in the second half that ballooned to as much eight with 11:28 remaining, but the Mountaineers' 8-0 run allowed them to tie the game at 49-49 with 8:27 left.
With under six minutes to go, Gary Browne's five straight points gave the Mountaineers their first lead since early in the second half, and they never trailed the rest of the game.
"I might not be a great shooter, I might not be a great passer, I might not be a great whatever, but...I make winning plays," the senior Browne said. "Since I've been here freshman year, I've been making big plays."
West Virginia struggled making free throws, shooting just 64.7 percent from the line, but its defense prevented the Herd from retaking the lead. Although Marshall shot 10-of-18 in the second half, it only made two shots from the floor over the final 10 minutes of the game.
The game between these in-state rivals started getting chippy at the under eight-minute media timeout of the first half. Staten and Marshall's Cheikh Sane each received technical fouls.
After the technicals were called, the Mountaineers went cold from the field, only making two more shots before the half. The second one was key, though, as Carter's jumper beat the buzzer to tie the game at 27-27 after the first 20 minutes.
WVU shot 0-for-7 from long distance in the first half and was just 36.7 percent overall. Staten led the Mountaineers with eight points, and Edmonds paced all scorers with nine at the half.
Game Notes
West Virginia improved to 32-11 in the Capital Classic rivalry ... The Mountaineers have made a 3-point shot in 498 consecutive games ... West Virginia outrebounded Marshall 36-26 ... The Mountaineers next take the court on Saturday against N.C. State at Madison Square Garden... The Thundering Herd take on King College on Tuesday.
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