No. 21 West Virginia (20-8, 9-6) snapped Baylor’s five-game win streak by defeating the Bears (17-11, 7-8) by a score of 71-60 inside the Ferrell Center Tuesday night.
The Mountaineers used a dominating defensive effort to top Baylor, forcing 14 turnovers which led to 22 points for West Virginia.
Baylor finished the game shooting 33 percent from the field to West Virginia’s 43 percent. The Mountaineers also blocked 13 total shots with nine of those blocks coming from sophomore forward Sagaba Konate.
West Virginia had five players in double figures and was led by junior forward Esa Ahmad and senior guard Jevon Carter who each scored 15 points. Baylor was led by Jo Lual-Acuil Jr., who scored 16 points for the Bears.
Baylor took an early 2-0 lead with a layup from Lual-Acuil Jr., but West Virginia answered back with a 9-0 run with seven of its nine points coming from three early Baylor turnovers. During this stretch, the Bears missed seven straight shots after making the first basket of the game.
The two teams then went cold shooting as the Mountaineers were held without a field goal for over five minutes and Baylor was held scoreless for over four minutes and missed seven straight field goals.
Sophomore guard James “Beetle” Bolden ended West Virginia’s field goal drought with a three-pointer to give the Mountaineers a 15-6 lead at the 15:10 mark in the first half.
West Virginia’s lead grew to 22-8 with 7:17 remaining until halftime thanks to jump shots from sophomores Lamont West and Konate and a three-pointer from Ahmad. A three-point play from freshman Teddy Allen capped off a 12-1 run from the Mountaineers as West Virginia held a 29-9 lead with 5:21 remaining in the first half.
Baylor responded with a 9-4 run that included five made free throws, but West Virginia would end the half on a 7-0 run which was capped off by Carter’s dunk near the closing seconds of the half.
West Virginia’s 22-point halftime lead was a direct result of its first half defensive effort. The Mountaineers forced 12 Baylor turnovers in the first half which led to 16 points for West Virginia.
The Mountaineers also shot 15-of-28 from the field and held Baylor to just 5-of-26 shooting. The team was led by Ahmad and Bolden in the first half with each scoring 10 points.
West Virginia picked up right where it left off during the early the minutes of the second half, forcing a Baylor turnover and scoring eight quick points. Six of these eight points came from Carter, who hit back-to-back three pointers to extend West Virginia’s lead to 48-20 at the 17:50 mark.
Baylor began to surge after the halfway point in the second half, going on a 16-2 run to come within 12 points of the Mountaineers at the 8:53 mark in the second half. During this span, West Virginia was held scoreless for over five minutes.
Senior guard Daxter Miles Jr. ended this drought by completing a four-point play after he was fouled on a made three-point attempt. This four-point play extended West Virginia’s lead 59-43 and a pair of free throws from Konate and one from Carter made the score 62-43 in favor of the Mountaineers with 6:24 left.
From there, the momentum swung over to West Virginia's side for the remainder of the game as the Mountaineers earned their 20th victory of the season.
The Mountaineers will return to Morgantown Saturday to face Iowa State for a 6 p.m. tipoff.
