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Published Dec 29, 2019
No. 22 West Virginia basketball downs No. 2 Ohio State, 67-59
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Patrick Kotnik  •  WVSports
Staff Writer
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@PatrickKotnik

CLEVELAND – No. 22/23 West Virginia (11-1) came up with a big win Sunday afternoon by upsetting No. 2-ranked Ohio State (11-2), 67-59, in the Cleveland Classic inside the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Ohio State got out to a 5-2 lead as West Virginia racked up four team fouls (three of those being offensive fouls) less than five minutes into the game.

Miles McBride later scored eight quick points off the bench for the Mountaineers as the two teams went back-and-forth after slow offensive starts. Following a free throw from Gabe Osabuohien, who replaced Oscar Tshiebwe on the floor after Tshiebwe committed two early fouls, Ohio State was leading, 16-13, with 12:03 left until halftime.

West Virginia would later go on a 6-0 run that was capped off by a three-pointer by Chase Harler. Harler’s three gave the Mountaineers a 20-18 lead which was their first lead since scoring the first points of the game.

The two teams continued to battle back-and-forth, but West Virginia’s struggles at the free throw line continued and four of the team’s five starters had two fouls or more.

Ohio State then built up a 32-25 lead at the 4:18 mark after a three-pointer from Duane Washington Jr.

Sean McNeil later narrowed West Virginia’s deficit down to six points with a three-pointer and Ohio State would take a 37-31 lead into the locker room for halftime.

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Halftime Stats:

Tshiebwe committed his fourth foul 19 seconds into the second half and was back on the bench. After an Ohio State free throw, McNeil made his second three-pointer of the game, but Kaleb Wesson answered back with a dunk to give the Buckeyes a 40-34 advantage at the 16:58 mark.

A 7-0 run from the Mountaineers followed which included five points from McBride. This run helped West Virginia take a one-point lead, but a three pointer from D.J. Carton ended the run and gave Ohio State a 43-41 lead with 11:49 to go.

More back-and-forth action between the two teams ensued, but West Virginia would use another 6-0 run to take a five-point lead over the Buckeyes. This run consisted of a Harler three-pointer and three-point play by Jermaine Haley.

The Mountaineers had chances to extend their lead, but Ohio State would eventually bring it down to three points with a pair of free throws from Wesson and Haley would miss two free throws. Wesson made two more free throws to bring Ohio State’s deficit down to just a point.

Ohio State then regained the lead at 54-53 with a three-pointer by Wesson, but the Mountaineers would get the lead back with a field goal from Culver.

Two free throws from Miles McBride extended the West Virginia lead to 57-54 and a charge was called on Ohio State on the next possession. McBride later hit another jumper to make it a five-point lead for the Mountaineers.

Another three-pointer from Wesson then made it a four-point game with 50.7 seconds left. But from there, West Virginia was able to seal the game with free throws and complete the upset win.

West Virginia will hit the road again to begin Big 12 Conference play against No. 5 Kansas next Saturday. The game will begin at either 4 p.m. or 8 p.m. ET.

Final Stats:

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