by By Bryan Messerly
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Four West Virginia University men’s basketball players scored in double figures, led by RaeQuan Battle’s 29 points, as the Mountaineers led for 38:23 of 40 minutes to defeat Toledo, 91-81, in front of 10,693 fans on Saturday afternoon at the WVU Coliseum.
Battle, playing in just his second game as a Mountaineer, scored 29 points for the second game in a row, shooting 9-of-15 from the field and 9-of-10 from the free throw line.
Kerr Kriisa recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists in his third game as a Mountaineer. Kriisa became the first Mountaineer player to dish out 10 or more assists in a game since Jordan McCabe had 11 against TCU in 2019. In three games, Kriisa is nearly averaging eight assists per game.
Akok Akok nearly recorded a double-double with nine points and 12 rebounds in 24 minutes of action. He also blocked two shots.
Quinn Slazinski was the other Mountaineer in double figures, scoring 14 points. Josiah Harris added eight points, Ofri Naveh had three points and Pat Suemnick and Kobe Johnson each recorded two points.
The Mountaineers jumped out to an 18-point lead at 25-7 with 13:03 remaining in the first half. West Virginia led 45-33 at halftime.
Toledo did not go away in the second half, cutting the WVU lead to two points on four different occasions.
West Virginia shot 51.7 percent for the game and 78.6 percent from the free throw line. The Mountaineers outrebounded the Rockets, 35-34.
