Senior guards key to WVU getting past Texas Tech
If West Virginia is going to win a championship, the senior leaders are an important piece to that.
Perhaps the most important.
The pair on the Mountaineers roster didn’t want to be denied against a tough Texas Tech team as they figuratively put the rest of the club on their backs with their play in the second half. The end result was a third Big 12 Championship game appearance in as many years beating the Red Raiders 66-63.
But this was a dogfight to get there.
The two teams exchanged blow after blow, run after run as the final stats almost mirrored each other outside of the final score. It was obvious that the two were familiar with one another and knew how to approach their opponent. That’s why it was critical the seniors stepped up.
And stepped up they did.
Jevon Carter and Daxter Miles combined to score 39 of the 66 West Virginia points hitting big shot after big shot over the course of the highly contested game. They were two of three players to finish in double figures and each made six shots, while nobody else netted more than four.
After only scoring five points in the first half and battling foul trouble Carter came out of the locker room focused and ready to impact the game. He didn’t need reminders; he knew where he stood at the time.
“I felt like I wasn’t helping my team offensively or defensively,” Carter said.
That wouldn’t be a concern in the second frame as Carter hit a trio of triples over a two-minute span in the second half to push the Mountaineers in front and finished with 12 points in the frame.
Perhaps none as big as the layup and foul shot to retake the lead after Texas Tech had surged ahead at 57-56 with four minutes left to play. It would be the only time that the Red Raiders would lead in the second half, but of course it was Carter that would take the ball, score and complete the and-one.
Carter also played tenacious defense and his ability to lock down Red Raiders guard Keenan Evans down the stretch, including on the penultimate possession proved to be the difference.
Miles, had eight points at the break, but exploded down the stretch scoring 14 points and continuing a recent stretch where he has made 24-48 from three over the past eight games. After an impressive 19-point performance in the opener against Baylor, he followed that up with 22 against Texas Tech.
After a season of ups-and-downs, Miles is playing his best basketball of the season when it matters the most as the calendar has flipped to March. And the results are showing it. West Virginia has lost only one game this season when the Baltimore native scores over 15-points and he’s averaged 20.5 during the first two games in Kansas City showcasing a confidence he hasn’t shown shooting the ball.
“That’s a big plus for us. He’s been on and off all season, but he’s picked it up the last ten games,” redshirt sophomore James Bolden said.
It’s been known since the start of the season at this team will travel as far as Carter and Miles, one of the most experienced backcourts in the nation, will take them. Through two games in the Big 12 Tournament the duo has scored a total of 76 points on 21-48 from the field, 14 rebounds, 21 assists.
That doesn’t even include the defensive efforts that aren’t stuffed into a box score, although they have combined for eight more steals and a pair of blocks including the key play late against Texas Tech.
“When you talk about leadership, Dax and J.C. have kept us together,” assistant Larry Harrison said. “Especially Dax, he’s really raised his level of play in this tournament.”
And with Baylor and Texas Tech in the rear-view, all that’s left is to do what they came to Kansas City in the first place to accomplish.
West Virginia won a game where the Mountaineers made less shots, were out-rebounded and failed to generate anymore than 10 turnovers with its press. The senior guards were a big part of that and their ability to hit shots.
That prompted Red Raiders head coach Chris Beard to say this.
“They shoot like that, they’ll walk to the Sweet 16," he said.
That remains to be seen but for now the Mountaineers want to hang a banner and if the two seniors leaders have any say in it, Kansas is set to get their best shot.
