MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Trailing by three points with 11 seconds to play, Baylor’s Keyontae George missed a free throw to give WVU the chance to tie the game.
With the Bears leading by three, Joe Toussaint came down and missed a three-pointer. Baylor secured the rebound and sent the Mountaineers to their fourth consecutive loss to open Big 12 play, beating West Virginai 83-78.
“Whoever gets an open look takes the look,” Toussaint said. Probably should’ve penetrated, got to the rim.”
Baylor used a 7-0 run over a 55-second span late in the second half to secure the victory, with Adam Flagler and George scoring 11 of the final 17 points of the game for the Bears.
“They have a lot more confidence than what we do,” West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins said of Baylor’s guards.
The first half for Baylor (11-5, 1-3 Big 12) was all George. After the former Mountaineer Jalen Bridges got Baylor on the board with a layup, the Bears would control the opening minutes of the game.
“We went out there and fought and was able to get a big road win,” George said.
After an Erik Stevenson layup tied the game at 2-2, Baylor went on an 8-0 run over a 2:23 span. George would account for seven of the eight points, including a pair of free throws to go along with a three-pointer and a made jumper.
Trailing 10-2, the Mountaineers needed a spark offensively. West Virginia would not be able to have much success early on but were able to get in transition to cut into the Baylor lead.
The Mountaineers would cut the Baylor lead down to one just over halfway through the first half. Seth Wilson’s jumper capped off a 5-0 WVU run, putting Baylor’s lead at 13-12. Baylor would lead by as many as seven over the final 9:33 of the first.
Emmitt Matthews hit West Virginia’s first three-pointer of the game after West Virginia started 0 for 10 from beyond the arc. The make from Matthews put Baylor in front by only two, but the Bears would go into halftime with a six-point lead as George hit a three-pointer falling away at the buzzer.
George would finish the first half with 15 points and six rebounds, while Tre Mitchell paced West Virginia with six points and six rebounds in the opening half.
George finished the game 32 points, shooting 10 for 18 from the field, while making five of Baylor’s nine three-pointers on the evening.
Stevenson opened the second half with a three-pointer for the Mountaineers, but the Bears were not phased. George scored six of the first eight points in the second half for Baylor, including a layup plus the foul to lead 41-34 with 17:37 to play.
West Virginia would slowly fight their way back, making three three-pointers in the opening five minutes of the second half to keep pace with the Bears. The Mountaineers took their first lead of the game as Kedrian Johnson sank two free throws to give West Virginia a 49-48 lead with 11:41 to play. Baylor would take the lead right back as the Bears executed a lob to Josh Ojianwuna.
West Virginia would capitalize again with Johnson at the free throw line, as he sunk two more free throws to give WVU a 51-50 lead.
Baylor’s Adam Flagler responded with back-to-back layups, before West Virginia used a 6-0 stretch closed by a three-pointer in which Wilson double-pumped to give WVU a 57-53 lead and force a Baylor timeout with 8:31 to play.
“I tried to get it on the rim, give us a chance to rebound it,” Wilson said of his shot.
Wilson finished the game shooting 4 for 7 from the field, while scoring 11 points. Joe Toussaint had a team-high 20 points, making seven shots from the field, including a pair of three-pointer.
The Bears and Mountaineers would then go back and forth for the remainder of the second half, with the Bears ultimately prevailing. West Virginia battled over the final two minutes of the game, but Flagler and George made a combined to make seven free throws in the final 51 seconds of the game.
On the evening, Baylor shot 44.2 percent from the field, while making 39.1 percent of their three-pointers. West Virginia shot 32.3 percent from the field, while making 33.3 percent of their three’s.
Photo by Aaron Parker, Blue Gold Sports
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