West Virginia entered Wednesday on a two-game skid and they look destined for a third consecutive loss in the first half against No. 6 Houston.
The Mountaineers would cut the Cougar lead to as few as five points in the second half, but wouldn’t get any closer than that as Houston closed the door late to get a 63-49 win at the WVU Coliseum.
For a team that had lost two straight games for the first time this season, the last team the Mountaineers probably wanted to face was the best defense in the country in Houston and that proved itself throughout the first half of the game.
Houston opened up a 10-2 lead within the first 2:30 of the game, making four of their first five shots and they would never look back.
The Cougars’ calling card of their defense was on full display, and West Virginia had no answer. The Cougars forced eight West Virginia turnovers in the first half and out-rebounded the Mountaineers 18-10.
The Cougars led 13-7 before they went on a 9-0 run in the first half, before later going on a 10-2 run to continue to extend their lead.
West Virginia also came in the game going a combined 8-for-50 from beyond the arc in their two games last week, a trend that continued early on. The Mountaineers made one of their first five from distance, making another before they missed their final four 3-pointers of the half as Houston took a 39-19 lead into the locker room.
The West Virginia team that entered the locker room would be a very different team that left the locker room. The Mountaineers started the half on an 11-0 run, as they picked up the pressure on the defensive end, and it turned into scoring opportunities on offense.
West Virginia would quickly cut the 20-point deficit into single digits. Javon Small hit a 3-pointer to cut the Houston lead to eight, and then WVU would get it to five points twice, the second coming with 7:52 to play as the Mountaineer trailed 49-44.
The Mountaineers forced eight Houston turnovers in the first 13 minutes of the second half, leading to 12 points for the Mountaineers. WVU also made 10 of their first 15 shots of the second half, while Houston started the second half going 4-for-12, and 0-for-4 from beyond the arc.
West Virginia would run into trouble as they continued on their run as Small went down with a knee injury with 9:05 to play, and Sencire Harris, who was the catalyst of WVU’s full-court pressure to start the second half, picked up his fourth foul with 8:27 to play.
Trailing 49-44, Jonathan Powell would go to the free throw line with a one-and-one, trying to make it a one-possession game. He would miss the front end of the potential two free throws, before LJ Cryer converted an and-one on the offensive end for Houston, putting the Cougars back in front by eight.
West Virginia would then cut Houston’s lead to six, but the Cougars were able to slow the Mountaineers down. Houston opened their lead back to 11 with 4:32 to play, as two empty possessions on offense, and then an offensive rebound turned into a 3-pointer from Houston, halting almost all Mountaineer momentum.
Houston didn't look back, extending their lead to as many as 15, before they closed out the win.
Joe Yesufu led WVU in scoring with nine points on the night. Small was held to only eight points, a season-low for him, on 3-for-7 shooting.
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