WVU outlasts Sooners 89-76
No. 5/6 West Virginia (14-1, 3-0) stretched its win streak to 14 games with a victory over No. 7 Oklahoma (12-2, 2-1) inside the Coliseum Saturday night, 89-76.
The Mountaineers shot 46 percent from the field while the team’s aggressive defense forced 17 Oklahoma turnovers which translated into 21 points for West Virginia.
West Virginia was led by freshman forward Teddy Allen, who scored 20 points off the bench. Sophomore forward Sagaba Konate racked up his third career double-double, finishing with 16 points and 13 rebounds to go along with five blocks. Senior guard Jevon Carter finished with 17 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds and sophomore forward Lamont West finished with 17 points.
For Oklahoma, freshman sensation Trae Young finished with 29 points on 8-of-22 shooting, but turned the ball over eight times.
Oklahoma’s Christian James got things started with a three-pointer as the Sooners jumped out to a 9-7 lead at the 15:50 mark in the first half. West Virginia’s defense came out aggressive right out of gate, blocking shots six shots within the first 10 minutes of the game, four coming from Konate.
Despite its defensive effort, West Virginia struggled offensively early on and was shooting just 2-of-8 from the field at one point.
West Virginia then received a spark from Allen as he scored eight straight points off the bench on 4-of-4 shooting to give the Mountaineers a 20-18 lead, but James silenced the Coliseum crowd with his second three-pointer as the Sooners regained the lead 21-20 near the halfway point in the first half.
The two teams would trade baskets during the final 10 minutes of the first half and were tied at 32 at the 5:09 mark in the first half, but the Mountaineers would gain momentum thanks to six straight made shots from the field.
Carter would then come through for West Virginia during the final stretch in the first half, scoring 12 straight points for West Virginia as the Mountaineers ended the half on a 12-4 run, taking a 44-36 lead going into the locker room for halftime.
After one half, West Virginia was shooting 40 percent from the field to Oklahoma's 38 percent and held an 11-0 advantage in points off turnovers.
One of the key differences in the first half came on the matchup of Carter on Young. Carter guarded Young for most of the first half and held the freshman to nine first half points on 3-of-11 shooting and forced four turnovers. Carter himself led all scoring with 14 points in the first half to go along with seven rebounds, six assists and two steals.
The Sooners would open up the second half on a 10-5 run as West Virginia committed three early second half turnovers, but the Mountaineers still led 49-46 with 15:18 left to play. Five straight points from the Sooners including a three-pointer from Young gave Oklahoma a 51-49 lead.
Allen would tie the game up with a layup, but a pair of free throws from Young gave the Sooners the lead back, 53-51 as Carter and Harris sat on the bench for West Virginia after each picked up their fourth foul.
The Mountaineers stepped up and would get a spark from Konate, who hit back-to-back jumpers which sparked a 6-0 run for West Virginia as the Mountaineers led 57-53 with 11:55 left to go and then later carried a lead 67-59 with eight minutes left.
From there West Virginia would continue to ride its momentum and ice the game with free throws on its way to a 89-76 victory.
The Mountaineers will next face Baylor inside the Coliseum Tuesday for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
