With 10:44 to play in the second half on Monday night, West Virginia — a team firmly in the bubble conversation for the NCAA Tournament — looked to be unravelling. Tre Mitchell would be assessed with a flagrant two foul and be ejected, but after two missed free throws from the Cyclones — and two made ones from the Mountaineers — West Virginia trailed by only four.
It was a fighter’s mentality for the Mountaineers, as they survived in a gutsy effort beating Iowa State 72-69 and giving them a major boost to their NCAA Tournament chances in the process.
“It’s really not fun, but it turned out the right way,” West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins said.
Iowa State led West Virginia for the majority of the second half after WVU had built an eight-point halftime lead. The Mountaineers took advantage of Iowa State’s inability to score after Gabe Kalscheur picked up three fouls within the first 10 minutes of the game.
Iowa State led 15-13 at that point, and Kalscheur had 11 points. But without him on the floor, West Virginia’s defense took advantage, helping the Mountaineers close the final 10:39 of the half on a 22-12 run and entered the locker room with a 35-27 lead.
To start the second half though, the switch flipped for Iowa State.
With Kalscheur back in the game, the Cyclones found serious rhythm offensively. The Cyclones started 5-for-7 from the field to open the second half, making two three-pointers. They would ultimately tie the game at 41-41 within the first five minutes of the second half.
Soon after, the Cyclones took the lead on a Jaren Holmes three-pointer as he scored 16 on the night. Kalscheur then hit another three-pointer, extending the Cyclone lead to four and bringing the Hilton Coliseum to a roar.
Erik Stevenson who scored the first 11 points of the second half for the Mountaineers helped them keep pace responding with a three-pointer of his own, but Kalscheur and Holmes went on a 5-0 run, dishing out another blow to the Mountaineers.
Iowa State though, would not be guilt free during the Mitchell incident either. Leading by six, Mitchell’s elbow hit Aljaz Kunc in the mouth, leading to some shoving between Mitchell, Kunc, and Caleb Grill. Grill and Kunc both received technical fouls allowing West Virginia to shoot two free throws.
Joe Toussaint made two of his eight second-half free throws, while Seth Wilson then hit a three-pointer swinging the momentum back with the Mountaineers as they trailed by one after what looked like to be a complete disaster.
Iowa State would not be done landing blows however, going on a 6-0 run fueled by the duo of Kalscheur and Holmes yet again. Kalscheur made a layup with 3:55 to play, before West Virginia took the game over defensively.
Over the final 3:38, West Virginia didn’t rely on Stevenson who at the time had 22 points, but turned to Kedrian Johnson, Toussaint, Seth Wilson, Kobe Johnson, and Emmitt Matthews. This lineup would hold Iowa State scoreless from the 3:55 mark until there were 10 seconds to play. During that same span, West Virginia would go on a 9-0 run, taking a 69-64 lead.
“We went small. Offensively I think that really helped us. I thought defensively, we had some guys that really did a good job for us,” Huggins said. “Kobe Johnson was terrific defensively. He was on Kalscheur and then when we went [really] small, he guarded the post guy.”
Kalscheur would have one bullet left in the chamber, hitting a three-pointer with 10 seconds left, but Toussaint would hit two free throws, and then Stevenson would hit a free throw with a second left, before the Cyclones’ full court heave was unsuccessful as the Mountaineers completed the season sweep of Iowa State.
Over the final 3:38, WVU went 10-for-12 from the free throw line, with Toussaint making six of them. The Iowa transfer finished with 19 points, going 4-for-6 from the field, and 3-for-5 from three-point range. Stevenson scored 23 points, while Matthews added another 13.
Iowa State was led by Kalscheur who scored a game-high 26 points. The Cyclones shot 46.2 percent from the field on the night, making eight three-pointers as well. Iowa State made two of their final nine shots over the final 3:38 of the game, while Matthews added two huge blocks for the Mountaineers on the defensive end.
“It’s been a heck of a transformation for these guys quite frankly because we gave games away early on,” West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins said. “To come in here to make a comeback the way they made a comeback today says a lot about them.”
Photo by Aaron Parker
