West Virginia had the opportunity to beat a short-handed No. 15 TCU team on Tuesday night. The Horned Frogs were without leading scorer Mike Miles and their talented big man Eddie Lampkin was limited with a sprained ankle.
West Virginia kept it close throughout, but even without their big man, TCU was able to beat the Mountaineers 76-72, aided by 48 points in the paint.
The Mountaineers seemingly had an advantage on the interior with the injured Lampkin. Jimmy Bell who scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds when these two teams squared off just 13 days ago. Bell would be silent on Tuesday, scoring four points, securing three rebounds, while turning the ball over four times in 18 minutes played on Tuesday.
That trend would continue all night Tuesday as the Horned Frogs had 18 more points in the paint than the Mountaineers.
West Virginia had a heavy emphasis on getting the ball inside early. Four of West Virginia’s first five shots made from the field were either from a layup or a dunk. West Virginia kept it close early, trailing by one after the first 10 minutes.
TCU would go on a 6-0 run to lead by seven, before leading by as many as nine in the first half.
West Virginia trailed by as many as nine in the opening half, but a trio of three-pointers in the final 3:20 of the first half, as the Horned Frogs carried a 36-32 lead into halftime.
Xavier Cork and Shahada Wells were inserted into the starting lineup for TCU in place of Miles and Lampkin. Both would shine, combining for 31 points, and shooting a combined 13 for 16 from the field.
After beginning the second half leading by four, TCU would only increase their lead for the rest of the second half. Erik Stevenson scored the first six points of the second half for the Mountaineers, but TCU would go on a 7-0 run led by Cork and Wells.
Cork made a layup, followed by a three-pointer from Wells and then another layup from Wells. The run put TCU ahead 49-38 and from that point on West Virginia could not keep pace.
The Horned Frogs led by no fewer than six until late in the second half when West Virginia cut the deficit to six after an Erik Stevenson three-pointer with 3:12 to play. The Mountaineers would then get within four in the final minute, but never had a chance to tie the game or take the lead.
TCU led for 36:49 of the game, while shooting 51.7 percent from the field and going 14 for 19 from the free throw line. Damion Baugh added another 16 points for TCU, while Jakobe Coles scored a game-high 17 points for the Horned Frogs.
Stevenson led the Mountaineers also with 17 points, while Tre Mitchell found his game again, scoring 15 points, shooting 6 for 10 from the field.
