West Virginia trailed Cincinnati 47-41 with 7:44 remaining in the game in what could be considered a must-win when it came to the NCAA Tournament hopes for the Mountaineers.
It was a second half where West Virginia struggled to get much going even going through a stretch where the offense made only 1 of 12 over a stretch.
“We were down six and it felt like 20 because we couldn’t score at all,” head coach Darian DeVries said.
But that’s when things changed. And West Virginia proved ready to fight.
After back-to-back games where the Mountaineers faltered down the stretch, West Virginia outscored the Bearcats 21-6 to take a commanding 62-53 lead with just 14 seconds remaining.
Sophomore Amani Hansberry played a critical role scoring eight points and grabbing several key rebounds, while freshman Jonathan Powell hit a pair of threes. There were others that played key roles as well but it could prove to be a turning point in the year.
Meanwhile, on the defensive end, West Virginia turned up the intensity and ball pressure which made it difficult on the Bearcats to get even into their offensive sets.
It seemed as if the game was all but over, but that too provided a critical lesson for the Mountaineers.
Cincinnati stormed back scoring six points in three seconds and then got the ball back with a chance to tie the game after a turnover with four seconds left but that attempt bounced off the rim.
West Virginia elected not to foul up three, a strategy that is used by DeVries in those situations after losing a game as a player doing that, and the game-tying attempt by Tyler Betsey fell harmlessly into the arms of Sencire Harris to end things.
The Mountaineers found a way to win and in the end that’s all that mattered even with what had transpired in those final moments. The results are the only thing that matters.
“Like we told them in the locker room, that’s why you never, never take for granted until that clock kicks zero because there’s just so many things that can happen. That was one of the wilder sequences I’ve ever been a part of just thankful that ball didn’t go in,” DeVries said.
The Mountaineers now sit at 16-10 overall and 7-8 in the Big 12 with a season sweep over the Bearcats and head into the final five games looking to bolster their resume down the stretch run.
“We’re certainly not going to apologize for any of that. Winning is tough, this league is tough every night. It’s going to be a 40-minute game and tonight was no different,” DeVries said. “So, we’re certainly glad we were able to come away with a win and we have a big road game coming up following this.”
The final five games of the season is an interesting mix with the Mountaineers set to see three opponents for the first time on the road at Texas Tech next, then Feb. 22 against TCU at home and to close the year at home against UCF. Sandwiched in between those final two homes games are road rematches with BYU and Utah.
That’s going to present challenges in both directions. In those rematches, West Virginia will have to adjust after BYU and Utah saw them the first time and come up with some new things to attack them.
“Your preparation becomes even more important when you’re playing teams that second time or even a third time in the conference tournament of how do you get every possession, every out of bounds play, every sideline out of bounds, where can you steal a couple points that’s so hard to come by in the half court. Trying to be good at all the extras is so critical,” DeVries said.
Then in those first meetings against teams, West Virginia will have to put a lot of time into the preparation before the game since it’s the first time they will have seen those teams on the court. That’s especially critical when you’re dealing with a first year coaching staff in a new league.
“We have nothing else to go off of so for us we’re going to see everything that they have for the very first time,” DeVries said.
West Virginia took a big step Wednesday by fighting when they needed to the most, but there’s still a lot of battles left over the final five games that will come to define this season.
“We know what we need to do. We know we let a few games slip so we’re just trying to get where we need to be and pick up a few more wins,” senior guard Javon Small said.
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