It’s Javon Small’s world and West Virginia was living in it on Saturday.
The Mountaineer point guard was honored prior to West Virginia hosting UCF at the WVU Coliseum. It was a day that had a lot of meaning for WVU’s point guard. It was his senior day as he tried to also put the finishing touches on a Big 12 Player of the Year campaign, all the while going head-to-head with the top scorer in the Big 12.
Small put the stamp on his personal achievements scoring 25 points, to go with seven rebounds and nine assists, as the Mountaineers led by as many as 27 in the first half, before that lead was cut to three in the second half.
Still though, West Virginia was able to hang on and closed the regular season with a 72-65 win over UCF.
Small was a man on a mission from start to finish on Saturday. He opened the scoring for WVU with a jumper in the paint, as the Mountaineers started the game on a 9-2 run over the first four minutes as Small scored five of those points.
Small wouldn’t slow down as he scored 11 points in a row for the Mountaineers on three 3-pointers and a layup as WVU led 25-11, and Small had more points (16) than UCF did as a team with 11:08 to play in the first half.
WVU’s dominance continued throughout the remainder of the opening period, leading by as many as 27 before taking a 47-25 halftime lead into the locker room.
Small ended the half with 19 points, going 7-for-16 from the field and 5-for-10 from three. UCF as a team went 9-for-31 from the field, and 4-for-14 from beyond the arc.
Small was one of five seniors honored before the game. Out of those five, four saw the floor in the first half, and three scored at least a point, including Small.
The second half was not as crisp of a start as was the first half for the Mountaineers.
UCF slowly chipped away as the Knights started 8-for-13 from the field, while WVU made only four of their first 12 shots in the second half. UCF cut the Mountaineer lead to 13 points with less than 10 minutes to play as WVU struggled offensively.
That struggle boiled over within 8 seconds as Sencire Harris picked up three fouls on both ends for WVU, with the last being a technical foul. The Knights took full advantage, making both free throws as WVU’s lead was 60-49 with 9:35 to play as they were on a 10-0 run.
As UCF got back into the game, WVU’s offense slowed as they had a scoring drought lasting more than four minutes. They would then turn to Small, but as a passer this time, as he found Amani Hansberry for a layup. Toby Okani then rejected Darius Johnson at the rim as WVU went to the under eight media timeout with a 62-49 lead.
Johnson would cut WVU's lead to 10, the smallest lead since 11:37 to play in the first half for WVU. Small then would go to the line on the other end to make two free throws, putting WVU ahead by 12 with 6:19 to play.
UCF responded with a 3-pointer from Moustapha Thiam before WVU couldn't convert on offense after multiple offensive boards. UCF would then stop Small on a fastbreak, before they went right back down the floor, hitting another 3-pointer, as they were 4-for-9 from beyond the arc in the second half, while WVU had just five total makes from the field, with the Mountaineers leading 64-58 with 4:58 to play.
UCF cut the deficit to five as Harris was whistled for his fifth foul with 3:33 to play and the Knights made both free throws after the foul. Small tried to answer back but was unsuccessful, airballing a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired. WVU got a stop on the other end, before Small stepped out of bounds on the offensive end for the Mountaineers as their lead was still five with 2:18 to play.
UCF would score on the other end with a layup from Johnson, before Okani was fouled on the other end. He missed the front end of a one-and-one but Hansberry grabbed the offensive board before Small found Jonathan Powell for a 3-pointer, to put WVU in front by six.
UCF split a pair of free throws on the other end, before both teams missed 3-pointers on their respective ends of the floor. Powell would finally get control of the ball, getting fouled with 20.2 seconds to play. He missed the front end of the one and one, before Joe Yesufu tapped the ball to Small who was fouled. Small would hit both his free throws, extending WVU's lead to 72-65 with 15.7 seconds to play.
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