Bizjack, Sadler and Buchanan lead West Virginia over Mercer, 75-61

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Finley Bizjack scored 15 points, Miles Sadler and Javan Buchanan added 12 apiece, and West Virginia pulled away early in the second half for a 75-61 victory over Mercer on Thursday night. West Virginia (3-0) opened the second half on a 12-3 run and had a double-digit lead for nearly the rest of the way. The Mountaineers shot 50% from the floor in the second half. Bizjack and Sadler combined for 13 points after the break. Buchanan scored 11 second-half points. Bizjack finished 4 of 12 from the floor that included two 3-pointers, and he made all five of his free-throw attempts. Sadler shot 4 of 11 from the field and Buchanan made 8 of 11 free throws. Shane Cherry scored 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting to lead Mercer (2-3). Karon Boyd scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Bears. Mercer used an 11-2 surge late in the first half to tie it 28-all before Bizjack hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give West Virginia a 31-28 halftime lead. The Mountaineers shot 10 of 32 and 4 of 18 from distance. Mercer was 9-of-28 shooting but made all eight of its free-throw attempts before the break. It was the first meeting between the teams. Up next Mercer: at Presbyterian on Wednesday. West Virginia: plays Auburn in the Players Era 8 in Las Vegas on Tuesday. Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here , visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full men’s basketball coverage here