Joe Toussaint and Seth Wilson combined for 37 bench points and West Virginia seized a fifteen point win over the Red Raiders, 76-61.
The start couldn’t have looked uglier for a Mountaineer team looking to get their second league win against a team yet to get any. In just the first three minutes, WVU turned the ball over three times and went 0-5 from the field. They wouldn’t put points on the board for another full minute.
Head coach Bob Huggins clearly had seen enough and subbed out the entire starting lineup following a media timeout. It appeared to be the spark they needed, as Seth Wilson hit a deep three on the group’s first possession.
Things continued clicking for the group, as Joe Toussaint and Seth Wilson hit back to back threes around the nine minute mark to get the game within three.
West Virginia finally got their first lead of the night after Texas Tech was called for a technical foul. Erik Stevenson made four straight free throws to seize the lead and then Keddy Johnson hit a three pointer for his first bucket of the night to get the Mountaineers some momentum.
Tre Mitchell hit a three with 30 seconds remaining in the half to give West Virginia a 33-28 lead going into the break.
Three minutes into the second half, Texas Tech was called for their second technical of the night. Stevenson once again knocked down four free throws in a row to get their lead up to seven.
Texas Tech climbed back within one on an and-1 layup, but missed the free throw, resulting in Stevenson finding Seth Wilson in transition for another three pointer.
Wilson hit his fifth three pointer of the night and on WVU’s next possession Erik Stevenson hit a deep ball of his own. James Okonkwo then got involved, getting a three point play of his own via and-1.
With six minutes remaining, Okonkwo got a monster block on a Texas Tech dunk attempt and Joe Toussaint was fouled at the other end. Upon hitting both free throws, West Virginia got out to their first double-digit lead of the night.
The Mountaineers were able to ride it out the rest of the way to come away with the win. They all next play Auburn for a tough out of conference matchup on Saturday, January 28th.
