MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia battled back from a 9-point second half deficit and found a way to get past Iowa State, 70-65 late Friday night at the Coliseum in the Mountaineers’ Big 12 Conference opener.
“Survival,” said WVU head coach Bob Huggins. “This has been a habitual problem. If you go back and look at points in the paint, it has been habitual.”
Leading by one point at halftime, Iowa State used a 12-0 run early in the second half to take a 43-34 lead, their largest lead of the game. The Mountaineers battled back over the next eight minutes, evening the score at 54-54 with 8:07 left after a Deuce McBride 3-pointer.
The Cyclones took the lead into the final media timeout with 3:54 left after Rasir Bolton connected on a jumper in the paint to put ISU up 63-60. West Virginia ended the game on a 10-2 run but scored only one field goal during that stretch. Taz Sherman’s putback of his own miss with 51 seconds left gave WVU their first lead since the opening minute of the second half, 64-63.
Iowa State retook the lead in peculiar fashion on their next possession. Bolton drove into the lane and appeared to commit an offensive foul. After review, the call was overturned and Bolton was awarded free throws. He connected on both, giving the Cyclones a 65-64 edge.
On WVU’s next possession, McBride was fouled with 20 seconds left. After an ISU timeout, McBride drilled a pair of free throws to give WVU the lead back at 66-65. The Cyclones inbounded the basketball but Sherman knocked the pass off a Cyclone, giving the Mountaineers possession with 19 seconds left.
“I was counting down in my head, one, two, three, four,” Sherman said. “By the time I got to three I thought he has to make this pass to get the ball in. So I just kind of broke on it. When I tried to steal it, I actually hit the ball towards him a little bit. Fortunately for us, it went off of him.”
“I told Taz he was going to be the reason we ended up winning,” Culver said. “He came up big. I told him he was going to finish the game out for us. He believed when he ended up getting that steal.”
Sherman and Emmitt Matthews, Jr. each hit consecutive free throws down the stretch to secure the 5-point win.
“I watched Iowa State play Kansas State. They didn’t play like that. They didn’t drive it like that and they didn’t make shots like that,” Huggins said. “They were excited about having a chance to beat at top ten team.”
Iowa State shot 49% from the field, while the Mountaineers shot just 38%. WVU was held to just 3-of-14 from 3-point range.
The Mountaineers shot the ball well from the free throw line over the final six minutes, making 14-of-16 from the stripe.
“Desperation,” Huggins said. “We had to make them to stay in the game. That’s concentration. You stand up there and you know you have to make them.”
“It is my job as a point guard just to get everybody in the positions and calm the game down and smooth things out. You are just trying to learn and win. And that’s what we did tonight,” said McBride.
McBride and Culver each led the Mountaineers (7-1) with 18 points. Culver also collected a dozen rebounds for secure his 21st career double-double. Oscar Tshiebwe scored 12 points, making 4 of 5 shots from the floor. Bolton led the Cyclones with 25 points. Jalen Coleman-Lands added 11 for Iowa State (1-4).
Entering Friday, visiting teams were 4-0 in Big 12 games this season. The Mountaineers will play their first Big 12 road game Tuesday night at No. 5 Kansas (7-1).
(Bob Huggins postgame Zoom Conference)