No. 9 West Virginia's inside punch of Derek Culver and Oscar Tshiebwe was too much for Northeastern on Tuesday as the Mountaineers cruised to a 73-51 nonconference win in Morgantown, W.Va.

Culver fired in a game-high 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting, while Tshiebwe powered his way to a 12-point, 15-rebound double-double as the Mountaineers improved to 8-2. Emmitt Matthews Jr. added 13 points for West Virginia, which overcame poor shooting from 3-point range (2 of 21) by owning the boards and playing its typical rugged defense.

The Huskies (1-5) were paced by Quirin Emanga with 13 points while Tyson Walker managed 10 points, seven under his average. Walker was hassled into five of Northeastern's 19 turnovers. The Mountaineers converted those mistakes into 22 points.

West Virginia held a 45-34 advantage in rebounding and dominated points in the paint 50-20. West Virginia held Northeastern to 33.3 percent shooting from the field, and the disparities in turnovers and offensive rebounding enabled the hosts to take 21 more shots from the field.

Still, the Huskies moved to within 34-31 less than a minute into the second half when Shaquille Walters scored in transition. But Tshiebwe's putback started a 14-3 run that pushed the Mountaineers' lead to double digits, where it stayed for the game's final 15:42.

Culver got West Virginia off to a fast start, scoring 10 points in a 2:51 span early in the first half as he bullied smaller Northeastern in the lane for a spate of layups and dunks. At the end of his run, the Mountaineers owned a 15-10 advantage.

The Huskies, who have played one of the toughest nonconference schedules in Division I with six straight road games, stayed within a possession or two for most of the half. They trailed just 23-20 after Emanga canned two free throws at the 7:01 mark.

At that point, West Virginia took charge with an 11-1 burst that saw Matthews and Tshiebwe each collect four points. Northeastern was able to score the half's last five points and close within 34-26 at intermission.

--Field Level Media