Kedrian's career-high not enough as West Virginia falls to Arkansas
Kedrian Johnson finished with a career-high 18 points Wednesday, but West Virginia was unable to defeat Arkansas, falling 77-68.
The loss is the Mountaineers' fifth straight.
From the opening tipoff, things turned ugly for WVU. By the first half's under-16 timeout, the Mountaineers found themselves staring straight at an 11-point deficit.
The combination of Arkansas' Au'Diese Toney and Stanley Umude was no match for West Virginia's defensive efforts, combining for 17 points in the first half.
While WVU's Malik Curry would score 11 first-half points, as a team, the Mountaineers shot a mediocre 34% from the field — limiting any sort of offensive success.
Despite an Arkansas scoring drought spanning more than six minutes, West Virginia failed to make major strides in trimming the gap. The Razorbacks ultimately entered halftime holding the 38-29 lead.
Arkansas' successes carried over to the second half, where the Razorbacks went on an 8-0 scoring run over the first few minutes and pushed their lead to more than 15.
West Virginia would not quit. A 16-2 run cut the Arkansas lead drastically and pushed the Mountaineers within five. But a strong Razorback response erased any trace of such a comeback effort.
Arkansas stayed in the driver's seat going down the stretch, holding a comfortable lead into the game's final minutes.
A WVU scoring drought of more than four minutes, carrying them to the game's final seconds, was the effective nail in the coffin for the Mountaineers, who could not overcome the eventual 77-68 final score.
Stat Attack
Johnson's 18 points led the Mountaineers in scoring. Curry and Taz Sherman were the only others to finish in double digits, ending with 11 and 15, respectively.
Five different Razorbacks finished with 10 or more points. Toney secured the team's high, ending with 19.
With six, Jalen Bridges led West Virginia in rebounding.
West Virginia had five players earn four or more fouls: Bridges, Gabe Osabuohien, Dimon Carrigan, Pauly Paulicap and Isaiah Cottrell.
Up Next
West Virginia (13-7) travels south to Waco for a Tuesday matchup with the Baylor Bears. The 9 p.m. tipoff will be televised on ESPN.
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