Freshman Jabarie Hinds had a season-high 19 points and five steals, and Kevin Jones posted his fourth consecutive double-double to lead West Virginia past visiting Akron 77-56 on Monday.

Jones finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Mountaineers (4-1), who won their third straight to give coach Bob Huggins his 695th victory.

Hinds delivered 15 of his points in the first half, when West Virginia built a 43-20 halftime advantage over the Zips (3-3).

Considering their Mid-American Conference foe owns a victory over No. 24 Mississippi State, the Mountaineers put together perhaps their best 10-minute stretch of the season to close out the first half.

After Nikola Cvetinovic's layup with 9:30 remaining cut West Virginia's lead to 20-14, the Zips were held without a field goal the rest of the way. The defensive dominance included 7-for-27 shooting (0-for-7 on 3-pointers) by the Zips, as well as a series in which five of six Akron possessions ended in turnovers.

It was a contrast to the last half West Virginia played against a MAC team. Kent State outscored the Mountaineers by 15 in the second half to rally for a 70-60 victory Nov. 15 at WVU Coliseum.

Nick Harney had 12 points and Zeke Marshall 10 for the Zips, who were coming off an 81-63 victory over Detroit last time out.

Monday's score could have been even more lopsided, but West Virginia shot only 14-for-27 at the foul line.