West Virginia (20-10, 8-9) got its first road win since Jan. 6 Tuesday night and spoiled Iowa State’s senior night, defeating the Cyclones (12-18, 5-12) by a score of 77-71 in Ames.
With the win, West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins now has 880 career victories, surpassing the legendary Dean Smith for sixth all-time in NCAA Division I men’s basketball.
West Virginia took an early 4-0 lead with baskets from Jermaine Haley and Jordan McCabe as Iowa State took its first timeout just 44 seconds into the game.
The Cyclones battled back and tied the game up at 4-all. Back-and-forth action then occurred between the two teams, but it was West Virginia that held a 13-12 lead by the 14:17 mark in the first half.
West Virginia started off shooting 6-of-8 from the floor, but the Mountaineers would go on to miss their next six shot attempts and were held scoreless for over three minutes. Iowa State managed to take a 15-13 lead with Tre Jackson’s second three-pointer of the game.
Derek Culver ended the West Virginia drought with a layup which tied the game up at 15 with 12:20 to go until halftime.
With Iowa State leading by a score of 19-17, the Mountaineers used a 14-2 run to take a 31-21 lead over the Cyclones. Four straight points from Iowa State trimmed the West Virginia lead down to six points, but a layup from Haley and three-pointer from Sean McNeil made it an 11-point game.
From there, West Virginia would go on to take a 44-31 halftime lead with its last basket of the half coming from Culver near the buzzer.
Halftime Stats:
Iowa State opened the half with an 11-0 run to narrow the West Virginia lead down to just two points. The Mountaineers didn’t get their first points of the half until the 14:17 mark when Taz Sherman made a pair of free throws to extend West Virginia’s lead to four points.
Prentiss Nixon would then drain three three-pointers which helped Iowa State grab a 51-48 lead over the Mountaineers with 12:06 to go.
West Virginia narrowed its deficit down to two points a couple of times, but Iowa State answered back each time. After the Mountaineers made it a two-point game again with a layup from Tshiebwe, Miles McBride made a three-pointer to give West Virginia a 57-56 lead with 8:25 to go.
This was all part of an 8-0 run that gave West Virginia a four-point advantage. But Iowa State would fight back again and tied the game up at 60 with four straight points from Rasir Bolton. The Mountaineers then regained the lead with a layup from Culver, putting the score at 62-60 with 5:35 remaining.
The basket from Culver started a 10-0 run for the Mountaineers that made it a 10-point lead for West Virginia at 70-60. The Cyclones didn't back down again and quickly made it a five-point game with two free throws from Solomon Young and a three-pointer from Nixon.
McBride extended West Virginia's lead to seven points with a couple free throws, but the lead was brought back down to five after a jump shot from Bolton at the 1:24 mark.
Gabe Osabuohien made 1-of-2 free throws at the line, but Iowa State managed to draw closer and made it a three-point game at 73-70 with a three-pointer from Jackson.
Osabuohien then fouled out soon after and the Cyclones were within two points after Bolton made 1-of-2 free throws at the line. McBride was then fouled on the ensuing possession and made both free throws to give West Virginia a 75-71 lead with 16 seconds left.
From there, the Mountaineers were able to close out the game and end their road losing streak.
West Virginia will cap off the regular season with its senior night Saturday against No. 4 Baylor at 1 p.m. ET.
Final Stats:
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