WVU downed by Kansas 71-66
No. 6/7 West Virginia (15-3, 4-2) dropped its second straight game by falling to No. 10 Kansas (15-3, 5-1) by score of 71-66 inside the Coliseum Monday night. The loss also snapped West Virginia’s four-game win streak against the Jayhawks in Morgantown.
The Mountaineers led Kansas by 16 points at one point during the game and were ahead by 13 points at halftime. West Virginia shot 40 percent from the field and turned the ball over 16 times.
West Virginia sophomore forward Sagaba Konate led the Mountaineers with 16 points and five blocks. He also recorded his fourth career double-double and finished with 10 rebounds. Senior guard Jevon Carter finished with 14 points and junior forward Esa Ahmad added 15.
Senior guard Daxter Miles Jr. hit a three-pointer on the game’s first possession and West Virginia jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead thanks to a five-second violation on Kansas, two blocks from Konate and then a layup from Konate.
Kansas would quickly answer back and tie the game at five with a three-pointer from Lagerald Vick and a layup from Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk. The Mountaineers then went cold shooting and at one point, made just one of its last seven shot attempts.
The two teams would trade baskets, but Kansas would take a 9-7 lead. That’s when West Virginia went on a 10-2 run that included two three-pointers from Carter as the Mountaineers took a 17-11 lead at the 12:15 mark in the first half.
A jump shot from Mitch Lightfoot cut Kansas’ deficit to 20-17, but then West Virginia would go on a 13-0 run to take a commanding 33-17 lead with 5:41 left until halftime. Vick ended West Virginia’s run with a layup and Kansas later cut West Virginia’s lead to 35-25 with baskets from Vick and Silvio De Sousa.
During this span, Kansas’ defense held West Virginia without a field goal for over three minutes, but Ahmad would score his first points of the night with a jump shot and layup to go along with another layup from Konate.
Graham would a hit a three-pointer for the Jayhawks near the closing seconds in the first half, but West Virginia would still take a 41-28 lead into the locker room for halftime.
After one half, the Mountaineers shot 44 percent from the floor to Kansas' 38 percent and also forced nine turnovers which turned into 11 points. Carter led all scoring in the first half with 10 points on 2-of-7 shooting and went 2-for-4 from downtown. The senior also connected on all four of his free throw attempts.
West Virginia also held the Big 12's Preseason Player of the Year Devonte' Graham to four points on 1-of-3 shooting in the first half.
The two teams traded baskets to start off the second half and West Virginia continued to keep its distance from the Jayhawks, leading 45-33 less with 16:45 left to play. Kansas then tightened up its defense and held the Mountaineers without a field goal for over three minutes again.
Konate ended that drought with a dunk that was assisted by Miles. Kansas would later cut its deficit to six points thanks to an 8-2 run. After a three-pointer from Ahmad, the Jayhawks would go on a run to take a lead with left to play. Four straight points from West Virginia helped the Mountaineers regain the lead, but Kansas jumped back ahead with a layup and two free throws from Mykhailiuk.
From there, Kansas shutdown the Mountaineers and West Virginia its second straight loss.
The Mountaineers will take on Texas at the Coliseum Saturday for a 2 p.m. tipoff.
