Senior Cobie Barnes tied his season-high with 32 points, and the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods men's basketball team pulled away for a 87-60 River States Conference victory Thursday inside Hamilton Arena.
Barnes also had a team-high six assists, two blocks and one of the Pomeroys' 12 steals. Barnes hit 4 of 5 from 3-point range in the second half and finished the game 6 of 10 from beyond the arc. 
The Pomeroys (12-4, 7-0 RSC) shot 50 percent in the second half to outscore the Golden Bears (12-3, 5-2 RSC) by a 43-24 margin in the final 20 minutes.
The Pomeroys set the tone for the strong second half late in the first half, particularly at the defensive end. SMWC held WVU Tech without a point from the 7:11 mark to the 2:49 mark, taking a 40-29 lead on a Barnes 3-pointer.
Defense was a big focus for the matchup. WVU Tech entered the game leading the nation with a 3-point shooting percentage of 41.9. While WVU Tech hit 9 of 20 overall (45 percent), the Pomeroys held the Golden Bears to 3 of 11 from 3-point range in the second half. 
"It was a big emphasis all week going into this game. Being able to take away their 3s and getting rebounds. When we're able to get stops, we're really good in transition," Barnes said. "(Defense) is where we get our easiest points. We're finally starting to catch our groove." 
After taking a 44-36 lead into halftime, SMWC stretched it to 56-41 within five minutes as Greg Jenkins scored eight points in the opening five minutes of the second half. 
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Barnes put the Pomeroys up 18 by the 10:44 mark. 
SMWC outrebounded WVU Tech 49-28 in the game as Shon Tupuola hauled in 17 boards to go with three blocked shots.
Jenkins added 18 points, five assists, two steals and a blocked shot for SMWC.
DaMeriz Merriweather came off the bench for 11 points.