MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – So much for that big win over Rutgers.

St. John’s fell behind 13-4 and never recovered against West Virginia as Da’Sean Butler scored 21 points to lead the Mountaineers to a 75-52 win over the Red Storm last night.

Paris Horne led St. John’s (11-9, 2-6 Big East) with 16 points, and D.J. Kennedy netted 14, but the Storm still slid to their eighth loss in their last 10 games after opening the season 9-1.

The Mountaineers (15-5, 4-3 Big East) used a stifling defensive effort in the first half to build a 36-20 halftime lead. WVU scored 13 points off of 13 Red Storm turnovers and limited St. John’s to just 34 percent shooting from the field in the opening half.

West Virginia pushed its lead to 31 points on a 3-pointer with 5:38 remaining in the second half. St. John’s was never able to trim the deficit to less than 16 points.

Alex Ruoff added 17 for the Mountaineers, while Devin Ebanks chipped in 10.

W.Va. 75 St. John’s 52