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West Virginia’s (14-20) quest for a Big 12 Tournament title ended in the semifinals Friday night as the 10th-seeded Mountaineers fell to No. 3-seeded Kansas (25-8), 88-74, in Kansas City.

The 10th-seeded Mountaineers led early on, but couldn’t quite keep up with Kansas once the Jayhawks got rolling. West Virginia finished the game shooting 43 percent from the floor to Kansas's 52 percent.

Lamont West led the Mountaineers with 16 points and Dedric Lawson scored a game-high 24 points for Kansas.

West Virginia jumped out to an early 4-0 lead with a free throw from Derek Culver and a three-pointer from West.

Kansas answered back with a three-pointer of its own from Quentin Grimes to make it a one-point game in favor of the Mountaineers. West Virginia then increased its lead to 8-3 with the help of baskets from Jermaine Haley and Jordan McCabe.

After the two teams exchanged jumpers, the Jayhawks went on a 10-3 run to take their first lead of the game at 15-13 with 15:24 left until halftime.

Culver ended the Kansas run with a layup which tied the game at 15-all. A pair of free throws from Devon Dotson extended the Jayhawks’ lead to two points, but a layup from Logan Routt tied the game again.

This began a 7-0 run for the Mountaineers which included two made free throws from West and a three-pointer from McCabe. West Virginia’s run gave the team a 22-17 lead, but Kansas answered back yet again with four straight points to cut its deficit down to a point.

Five straight points from West Virginia’s Brandon Knapper then extended the Mountaineers’ lead to six points at 27-21.

Back-and-forth action followed and Kansas was able to regain the lead later on thanks to an 11-0 run which put the Jayhawks ahead, 43-36.

Culver ended the Jayhawks’ run with a jump shot and after the each team scored another basket, Kansas took a 48-40 halftime lead with Grimes’s fifth three-pointer of the game during the half’s closing seconds.

Kansas maintained its lead during the early stages of the second half and extended it to double-digits at 57-46 with a layup from Grimes. This basket was part of another 11-0 run for the Jayhawks which gave Kansas a 64-46 lead over the Mountaineers with 14:29 to go.

A jump shot from Culver ended the Kansas run and West Virginia was able to cut its deficit down to 15 points after a free throw and jumper from Andrew Gordon.

West’s second three-pointer of the game cut Kansas’s lead down to 20 points and began a 10-0 run for West Virginia which made it a 13-point game in favor of the Jayhawks.

Kansas answered back with a quick 6-0 run to extend its lead back up to 19 points with 5:19 remaining.

From there, West Virginia was unable to rally back and the Mountaineers were eliminated from the Big 12 tournament.

With the loss, West Virginia will most likely be playing in the College Basketball Invitational tournament which will begin next week.

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