West Virginia led Texas Tech 27-20 with 3:30 remaining in the first half but that’s when things started to turn in a big way for the Mountaineers.
The visitors had controlled the pace and looked to be in a good spot before the Red Raiders closed the half on a 10-0 run to take a 30-27 edge into the halftime break.
“Thought we were in pretty good control with eight/ten minutes left and Javon (Small) got his second foul and I thought that was a big turning point in that first half,” head coach Darian DeVries said. “Because he’s such an important piece for us.”
While the 10-0 run was critical, the Red Raiders actually used a 15-3 run down the stretch run and when Small headed to the bench with 3:51 left in the half, Texas Tech had trimmed the lead down to just a single point after a pair of free throws.
“A few possessions where maybe we got a little anxious because we were controlling it and getting good movement and stuff and just didn’t finish the first half. A couple quick shots led to transition and all the sudden we’re basically in a tie game,” DeVries said.
Things continued in the second half as West Virginia was outscored 43-24 in the second half as the Red Raiders shot 63-percent in the second half and 64-percent from three. Texas Tech was able to get the ball into the paint and then spray it out for open three-pointers.
The final result was Texas Tech at 1.483 points per possession while the Mountaineers struggled to get anything going shooting just 30-percent from the field and 18-percent from three. West Virginia was just at .800 points per possession in the second half.
West Virginia now sits at 16-11 overall and 7-9 in the Big 12 with four games remaining on the schedule and all of their goals still in front of them. The focus from this game is like it has been in all the ones before it, learn from what unfolded and move onto the next one.
For West Virginia that is a Tuesday night home contest against TCU with a chance to avenge an earlier 65-60 defeat to the Horned Frogs in early February.
“Our focus is we care about the next one in front of us. We came in with a pretty good mindset today and that second half just got away from us,” DeVries said.
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