West Virginia entered Saturday as losers of five of their last seven, mostly due to their inability to play a full 40 minutes and finish close games.
Despite trailing for the majority of the game, the Mountaineers were able to send the game to overtime against Baylor on Saturday.
West Virginia gave it their all but ultimately came up short in the extra period, falling to Baylor 74-71 as the Bears scored nine points, all coming at the free throw line, while WVU went 2-for-9 from the field, in the overtime session.
Baylor controlled the game early and often in the first half, as the Mountaineers only led once and it was in the opening minutes of the game.
Baylor led by as many as nine, but did not lead by more than five for the first 18 minutes of the first half.
West Virginia tied the game at 21-21 with 5:10 to play, but the offense then went cold. During the same stretch, Baylor went on a 9-0 run as WVU struggled mightily from the field. Baylor’s run extended their lead to 30-21 until a Javon Small dunk ended the scoring drought for the Mountaineers with 38 seconds to play.
The Bears would be called for a 10-second violation after the dunk as they couldn’t get the ball across half court, before Small hit a runner with eight seconds to play, to cut Baylor’s lead to 30-25 heading into halftime.
To start the second half it was an 11-0 run by the Mountaineers which put them up 36-32 with 17:20 to play. The Mountaineers used five points from Toby Okani, before Jonathan Powell converted an and-one on a made 3-pointer. Baylor would respond as Eduardo Andre had three turnovers in as many possessions, as the Bears took a 46-41 lead off a 12-4 run.
Baylor would continue to lead until Small hit a 3-pointer to cut Baylor’s lead to 52-51, before Joe Yesufu hit a 3-pointer that put the Mountaineers in front 54-52 with about six minutes to play. Baylor would answer with a layup to tie the game, but Small once again responded with a layup as the two teams traded scores until the under-four timeout as Baylor led 59-58 with 3:56 to play.
The Mountaineers seemed to be destined to take the lead on an Okani dunk, but he slipped on a wet spot on the floor, turning it over. Baylor would then be fouled, and made two free throws to take a 63-61 lead with two minutes to play.
Small would then drive where he got fouled, making both of his free throws, but Baylor's Robert Wright made a layup to take a 65-63 lead. WVU then called a timeout with 1:21 to play and 17 seconds on the shot clock. Out of the timeout, WVU attempted a long 3-pointer and it went long, and the Mountaineers couldn't corral the rebound, giving Baylor the ball back with 1:02 to play.
The Mountaineers would get a stop and off the miss, Amani Hansberry was fouled grabbing the defensive rebound. He would go sink two free throws, tying the game at 65-65, before the Bears called a timeout with 24.5 seconds to play.
WVU's defense would stand strong, forcing Wright to put up a contested layup, which he could not convert, sending the game to overtime.
West Virginia and Baylor both struggled to start the overtime period as WVU made one of their first seven shots of the five-minute period, while Baylor had only three shots during the first 4:08 of OT, but scored all six of their points at the free throw line.
Small responded with a runner and then after splitting a pair of free throws, Small found Powell who missed a 3-pointer, sending Baylor back to the free throw line where they made one more and took a 73-69 lead. Small made two free throws to cut WVU's deficit to two points with 14.4 seconds to play.
Out of the timeout, Baylor would be able to run around and waste almost 10 seconds, as they were not fouled until there were 5.9 seconds to play. Baylor's Jalen Celestine stepped to the line, making one, before Powell caught the bouncing rebound and called a timeout with 3.3 seconds to play.
Baylor would immediately foul, sending Okani to the foul line with 2.6 seconds left. He missed both, helping Baylor hold on for the win.
Baylor improved their home record to 12-1 this season with the win.
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