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basketball Edit

Baylor holds off West Virginia

Baylor Bears guard LJ Cryer (4) shoots a three pointer over West Virginia Mountaineers guard Taz Sherman (12) during the first half at WVU Coliseum.
Baylor Bears guard LJ Cryer (4) shoots a three pointer over West Virginia Mountaineers guard Taz Sherman (12) during the first half at WVU Coliseum. (Ben Queen/USA Today Sports)

Despite a 19-point performance from Malik Curry, West Virginia couldn't defeat the defending national champions, falling to the No. 5 Baylor Bears 77-68

From the opening tip, a Taz Sherman three-pointer put WVU on the board first, allowing the Mountaineers to take charge from the get-go. They would go up 5-0 to open the game before two free throws from Baylor's LJ Cryer trimmed the deficit.

West Virginia's early luck was short-lived. As the Mountaineers began to come down from their quick success, the Bears went on a major scoring run — one that would put them ahead by double digits in only a matter of minutes.

As fans have seen time and time again, basketball is a sport of runs. Following the under-8 timeout, West Virginia went on an unprecedented 14-0 run to make it a one possession game.

The two teams traded blows down the stretch of the first half, with Baylor ultimately entering halftime in possession of the 37-33 lead.

The second half saw the occasional swap of leads as neither team could run away from the other.

Under the five minute mark, West Virginia slowly began to show signs of fatigue. Baylor's lead grew to double digits and the Mountaineers saw little success while trying to trim the gap.

The lead was insurmountable for the Mountaineers, who received their second-consecutive loss minutes later.

Stat Attack

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Curry finished with a team-high of 19 points. Taz Sherman (18) and Sean McNeil (17) followed closely behind.

Curry and Jalen Bridges led the Mountaineers in rebounding, each finishing with six.

Up Next

West Virginia (13-4) takes on Texas Tech in Lubbock on Saturday. The noon tipoff will be televised on ESPN2.

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