West Virginia 94, VMI 69: Sophomore guard Juwan Staten scored a team-high 18 points, grabbed seven rebounds and added three assists as the host Mountaineers overcame a sluggish start to snap a two-game losing streak and crush the Keydets in their home opener.

Junior center Aaric Murray, a 6-10 transfer from La Salle, scored 13 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds for the Mountaineers (2-3). Deniz Kilicli added 13 points as West Virginia had seven players score in double figures.

Stan Okoye had team highs of 14 points and eight rebounds for VMI (3-4). D.J. Covington chipped in with 12 points and seven boards.

The Keydets bolted to an early 11-6 lead, with Okoye scoring seven points during the stretch. West Virginia (2-3) regrouped following the first media timeout, taking control of the game with a 24-4 run en route to a 48-31 halftime lead.

The Mountaineers built the lead up to 65-38 on an Eron Harris layup with 13:44 remaining and led by as many as 36 points down the stretch as head coach Bob Huggins emptied his bench.

GAME NOTEBOOK: West Virginia improved to 95-9 all-time in home openers. ... Staten, a transfer from Dayton, led the Atlantic 10 Conference in assists as a freshman. ... West Virginia entered the game without one player averaging in double figures.