WVU sweeps Cyclones 87-76, clinches second in Big 12
No. 10 West Virginia (24-7, 12-6) sent five seniors out on a good note and clinched the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 Conference tournament by beating Iowa State 87-76 Friday night inside the Coliseum.
Iowa State had won six of seven games, but West Virginia was able to take control early in the second half and didn't look back pulling away from the Cyclones for the season sweep.
Before the game, West Virginia paid tribute to five seniors for their contributions to the program. The Mountaineers started all five of their seniors in honor of senior day with Nathan Adrian, Brandon Watkins, James Long, Tarik Phillip and Teyvon Myers opening the game on the floor for the home team.
The Mountaineers were led in scoring by junior guard Daxter Miles, matching a career high, with 23 points and 7 rebounds off the bench, while Adrian scored 16 points and grabbed 7 boards. Junior guard Jevon Carter netted 11 points and grabbed 8 rebounds, while redshirt junior Elijah Macon also hit double figures with 10 points and 5 rebounds.
Phillip also was a key contributor across the board filling up the stat sheet with 7 points, 8 rebounds and matching a career high with 10 assists.
West Virginia dominated the glass out rebounding Iowa State 48-29 and converted that into 23 second chance points. The Mountaineers also held a 40-12 advantage in the paint.
West Virginia opened the scoring with a three-pointer from Long and Adrian would add six more as the Mountaineers jumped out to an early 11-6 lead in the first three minutes. The Cyclones would open the game hot from deep hitting four of their first five to nod the game up at 15-all at the 14:41 mark.
The pace continued to be back and forth between the two teams in the first ten minutes with West Virginia holding a 14-5 edge on the glass and a 27-22 lead. The Cyclones would rally to close the gap at 28 a piece with just over five minutes left in the first half as the fast paced continued.
Making the most of his opportunities, Miles provided a major spark in the first 20-minutes scoring 14-points as the Mountaineers took a 43-42 lead into the halftime break. It was a first half that saw ten lead changes and seven ties as the two teams kept exchanging blows back and forth.
Miles continued his hot shooting into the second half with five quick points as the Mountaineers extended the lead to 50-42 in the first three minutes of the frame.
The Cyclones would cut the lead to 53-51 after a three-pointer by Matt Thomas, but two consecutive baskets put the advantage back at six points with 11:39 left. The Cyclones hit only three of their first 18 shots from the field in the second half and didn’t hit a two-point basket for the first ten minutes.
The Mountaineers would push the lead to its largest of the game at that point at 63-51 with 9:48 left drawing a technical foul on the Iowa State bench after Sagaba Konate recorded his third block of the game. However, West Virginia wouldn’t capitalize on the two free throws.
West Virginia continued to pound the Cyclones on the glass holding a 43-23 advantage at the 7:08 mark as the Mountaineers lead sat at 69-58. And from there the lead would swell to 77-62, the largest of the game, as the clock reached the 3:32 mark of the second half and from there the Mountaineers would salt away the rest of the game.
Next up for the Mountaineers will be in the Big 12 Conference tournament in Kansas City.