Sherman scores 18 as West Virginia tops Bellarmine 74-55

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Taz Sherman scored 18 points and West Virginia pulled away in the second half to beat Bellarmine 74-55. Sherman sank 7 of 12 shots from the floor for the Mountaineers (6-1), who improved to 4-0 at home. Sean McNeil hit two 3-pointers and scored 14. Jalen Bridges had nine rebounds as West Virginia won the battle of the boards 41-31. The Mountaineers, who led 37-30 at halftime, got a 3-pointer from McNeil to cap a 6-0 run to open the second half that pushed their lead to double digits 43-30 with 17:19 left to play. The Knights, who have played the toughest schedule to date with road losses to top-five teams Gonzaga, Purdue and UCLA, never got closer than 12 after that. Dylan Penn paced Bellarmine with 16 points and five assists.