It was a familiar feeling for West Virginia on Saturday against BYU.
Last Saturday, the Mountaineers battled early and led in the first half on the road against a ranked opponent in Texas Tech, before they pulled away towards the end of the first half, handing the Mountaineers a loss.
This Saturday, the Mountaineers once again battled early against the No. 25 ranked Cougars, leading during the first half. BYU would go on a 10-0 run to close the first half and then a 10-2 run to start the second half, helping them cruise to a 77-56 victory over WVU in Provo.
It was about as slow of a start between both teams, as shot making came at a premium. West Virginia trailed 10-8 roughly 10 minutes into the game as they started 4-for-20 from the field, while BYU started 4-for-15, while both teams were still empty from beyond the arc.
West Virginia trailed 13-8 before they went on a 9-0 run, to take a 17-13 lead. During the run both Amani Hansberry and Javon Small cashed in on 3-pointers from beyond the arc, while WVU was smothering the Cougars defensively.
West Virginia’s last field goal of the first half came with 3:13 to play, and from that point on it was straight downhill for the Mountaineers.
West Virginia made only one of their last seven shots from the field in the first half, while they were held to shooting 25 percent from the field and 2-for-13 from beyond the arc. BYU was 9-for-22 from the field and went 0-for-4 from three. However, they scored seven points from the free throw line, leading 25-19 at the break.
BYU’s first possession of the second half was a make from beyond the arc from Egor Demin, before Richie Saunders scored five straight points for BYU as they led 33-19.
The Cougars would continue to pull away as WVU started 5-for-16 from the field while BYU started 12-for-19, while BYU led 53-33 midway through the second half.
After not making a 3-pointer in the first half, the Cougars made four of their first seven in the second, with their fourth coming with 8:21 to play as WVU called a timeout as the Cougars led 61-37.
West Virginia had half of the number of makes as BYU had from the field in the second half at that point.
The Mountaineers finished the second half shooting 42 percent from the field, and going 6-for-14 from beyond the arc.
BYU finished the game shooting 52 percent from the field, making 5 of their 15 3-pointers. They also went 14-for-22 from the free throw line. Fousseyni Traore was a force for the Cougars on the inside, scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
Small led WVU in scoring with 15 points. West Virginia was held to 56 total points on the night, their fourth-lowest scoring output of the season.
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