MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Jeffrey Carroll looked unstoppable in the first half, Jawun Evans became brilliant in the second half and Oklahoma State continued a day of Big 12 road upsets by shocking No. 7 West Virginia 82-75.
The Cowboys (15-8, 4-6) won their fifth straight game by shooting a season-best 63 percent, with Carroll scoring 17 of his 20 points early and Evans pouring in 14 of his 18 after intermission.
“We don’t have any cupcake in this league. There’s none,” said Oklahoma State coach Brad Underwood, whose 0-6 start in Big 12 play seems lightyears away.
Along with making 8 of their last 11 shots overall, OSU finished 8-of-13 on 3-pointers.
BOXSCORE: Oklahoma State 82, West Virginia 75
“We didn’t guard, but they still have to make ‘em, and they did,” said Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins.
West Virginia was nearly saved by reserve forward Lamont West, whose career-high 21 included a four-point play that put the Mountaineers ahead 64-61.
That’s when Oklahoma State countered with a 15-5 run to take command and stun the Coliseum’s sellout crowd. After deferring to Carroll and Evans most of the game, Phil Forte sank a 3 that sent OSU ahead 69-66 and made four free throws in the final minute on his way to 13 points.
West Virginia leading scorer Esa Ahmad, shutout on only three shots, failed to get a rebound and was among the defenders who rotated a step slow. In the aftermath of Big 12 frontrunners No. 2 Baylor and No. 3 Kansas suffering home losses, the Mountaineers (18-5, 6-4) missed their chance to climb the standings.
“They knew Kansas lost. They knew Baylor lost. They knew this was a huge game for us that puts us right back in the hunt,” Huggins said. “Why would you not embrace that?”
Evans, returning from a spill in which his groin broke the fall of West Virginia’s 255-pounder Sagaba Konate, scored 10 points in the final 10:25.
“Jawun’s a really tough kid,” Underwood said. “It was a heck of a hit, but he jumped up and he can be sore tomorrow.”
The Cowboys overcame 19 turnovers to avenge a 92-75 loss in Stillwater on Dec. 30.
Underwood didn’t mind West Virginia shooting 48 percent and making 12-of-33 from 3-point range because OSU’s emphasis was on safeguarding the paint, where the Cowboys owned a 32-22 edge.
Tarik Phillip finished with 15 points on 3-of-4 long-range shooting with five assists for the Mountaineers.
West Virginia was out-rebounded 30-16, mostly because it had precious few chances to grab defensive boards.
Highlighting torrid first-half shooting, Carroll scored 13 points in the opening four minutes as OSU built a 15-4 cushion. The Mountaineers countered with West sinking 5-of-7 3-pointers as both teams shot better than 60 percent. in the half
When Jevon Carter chased down his own miss and sank a 16-footer with 4 seconds left in the half, West Virginia led 44-40. But Carter wasn’t the game-changing factor he was during the earlier win over OSU. Neither was Nathan Adrian, who finished with nine points and three rebounds.
“Holding them down a little bit was like cutting the head off,” Underwood said.
Huggins floored by call
Official Jeb Hartness assessed Huggins a second-half technical for dropping to the court in protest of a charging call against West.
The 63-year-old Huggins claimed he leaned backward and toppled, but said Hartness felt “I did it on purpose.” Officials are encouraged to punish coaches who become overly demonstrative.
“I’ve got to get this other hip fixed,” Huggins said, “and I don’t have real good balance right now.”
Numbers, notes, etc.
OSU’s previous season-high field-goal percentage was 55.7 against Central Arkansas in November. … The Cowboys made 24-of-27 at the foul line with Forte hitting 8-of-8. West Virginia finished 11-of-15 on free throws. … Oklahoma State’s 24 fouls per game are the fifth-most in Division I. … WVU’s West came in averaging 5.5 points and shooting 35 percent from 3-point range. He finished 6-of-12 from deep Saturday.