West Virginia was completely overwhelmed in the final stretch of the first half and then again in the second half against No. 10 Houston on Wednesday night at the Fertitta Center.
Whether it was on offense or defense, the Cougars flexed their muscle, as despite a valiant effort from WVU to keep it close Houston roared to a 70-54 victory, extending their home winning streak to 32 games.
Sustained success on offense has been an issue for West Virginia as of late and it’s even more of an issue playing the top defense in many statistical categories nationally. However, for West Virginia that did not seem to be a problem early as the Big 12’s leading scorer Javon Small made three triples, allowing WVU to keep pace. Small’s third 3-pointer put WVU in front 15-12 before Jonathan Powell made one to put the Mountaineers ahead by six.
Houston stormed back though, going on a 20-3 run from the 12:47 mark to the 4:29 mark of the first half, as their defense suffocated the Mountaineers and J’Wan Roberts took over for the Cougars.
Roberts played in his 151st career game on Wednesday and in only seven games had he scored more than 17 points. He scored 17 in the first half alone, going 8-for-10 from the field as Houston led 40-27 at halftime.
West Virginia would have a hot start out of the gate to the second half as Powell and Toby Okani connected from deep, and then Sencire Harris converted a layup after a steal and forced a Houston timeout less than two minutes into the half as WVU trailed 40-35.
The lead would get back to double digits for the Cougars in a hurry as LJ Cryer hit three 3-pointers, extending their lead to 13 points.
Amani Hansberry was in foul trouble the entire game, picking up two early fouls and three total in the first half. He would score 12 straight points for West Virginia as they cut Houston’s lead to as few as three, trailing 51-48 with 12:36 to play.
From that point on, Houston would be in full control as West Virginia's offense went cold.
The Cougars went on a 14-0 run from the 12:04 to 7:08 mark of the second half. West Virginia went on a field goal drought from the 12:36 mark until the 4:40 mark of the second half.
Houston shot 62 percent from the field in the first half, including a 6-for-11 mark from beyond the arc. They finished the game shooting 49 percent from the field and going 11-for-26 from three.
Houston forced seven WVU turnovers, leading to 25 points for the Cougars.
The Mountaineers were led offensively by Hansberry with 16 points while Small was held scoreless in the second half. The Cougars were led by Roberts who finished the game with 22 points.
WVU shot 44 percent from the field on the night, going 41 percent from beyond the arc.
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