No. 12/11 West Virginia (16-4, 4-3) failed to complete the regular season sweep of Texas Tech (13-7, 4-3) Wednesday night, falling to the Red Raiders, 89-81, on the road.
The Mountaineers turned the ball over on their first possession which led to a Texas Tech dunk on the other end. Jermaine Haley answered back for West Virginia on their ensuing possession to tie the game at 2-2.
With Texas Tech leading by a score of 5-4, the Red Raiders went on a 7-0 run to take a 12-4 lead as West Virginia started out shooting just 1-of-6 from the field. A pair of free throws from Derek Culver ended the Texas Tech run. The Red Raiders sunk two free throws themselves to extend their lead back up to eight points.
A 7-0 run from the Mountaineers followed which trimmed the Texas Tech lead down to a point. A jump shot from Kyler Edwards and three-pointer from Davide Moretti ended the run and gave the Red Raiders a 19-13 lead at the 11:30 mark.
West Virginia went on another run and tied the game up at 21, but Texas Tech would again answer back by going on a 15-5 run to make it a 10-point deficit for the Mountaineers.
A 6-0 run from the Mountaineers late in the half that included a four-point play from Taz Sherman narrowed the Texas Tech lead down to five points. After a free throw from Edwards, Gabe Osabuohien scored the final basket of the half which put the score at 42-38 in favor of Texas Tech at halftime.
Halftime Stats:
Jahmi'us Ramsey opened the second half with a layup and four made free throws from the Mountaineers would follow which cut Texas Tech’s lead down to two points.
Ramsey then made a three-pointer which began a 15-4 run for the Red Raiders that extended their lead to 13 points at 59-46 with 16:14 to go. During this stretch, technical fouls were called on West Virginia’s Jermaine Haley and Oscar Tshiebwe.
After a jumper from Miles McBride, Moretti added a three-point play and threes from Ramsey and Sherman later on put the score at 65-53 in favor of Texas Tech. A three-pointer from Chase Harler later on ignited a 12-3 run for the Mountaineers which trimmed their deficit down to six points at 73-67 with 8:18 left to play.
Texas Tech was quick to extend its lead up to nine points with free throws from Terrence Shannon and another three-pointer from Moretti. Moretti then made two free throws after a technical foul was called on Osabuohien. The free throws as well as a jumper from Edwards put the Red Raiders ahead by a score of 82-69.
Free throws from Culver with less than four minutes to go narrowed the Texas Tech lead into single digits at 84-76. A turnover by the Red Raiders led to Culver getting fouled again and making two more free throws to make it a six-point game.
A dunk from Texas Tech’s TJ Holyfield followed which made it an eight-point advantage for the Red Raiders with just under three minutes to go. Culver would again come through for the Mountaineers at the free throw line, making two more to make it a six-point game again with 1:27 remaining.
After a foul on West Virginia, Shannon would make 1-of-2 free throws and from there, the Red Raiders would seal the upset win over the Mountaineers.
West Virginia will return to Morgantown and host Kansas State Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.
Final Stats:
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