West Virginia men’s basketball had been searching to find some sort of production on the defensive end. Through two games in league, the Mountaineers had given up 89 and 81 points, respectively.
On Saturday night, it was a newfound effort on defense propelling the Mountaineers to a 76-73 win over No. 25 Texas.
Two things had been an issue for West Virginia (6-10, 1-2 Big 12) as of late — a strong presence on defense and a lack of consistent production out of their front court. The Mountaineers got both of those things, forcing a season-high 22 turnovers, as well as a career-high in points and rebounds for Pat Suemnick.
The tone was set early by Suemnick. Trailing 6-5 early, Suemnick grabbed an offensive rebound took one dribble and went under the basket for a slam. From that point on, the Suemnick and the Mountaineers were in a battle with the Longhorns.
West Virginia held a slight advantage for the majority of the first half, in large part due to their ability to be strong on the defensive end as well as the glass.
Dillon Mitchell, who came into Saturday’s contest second in the Big 12 in rebounds per game was held to just one in the first half, and only four throughout the entire evening. On the flip side, Suemnick had four rebounds to go along with his 11 points in the first half.
Texas (12-4, 1-2 Big 12) kept pace on the strong shooting of Max Abmas. Abmas scored 10 points in the first half, including a 5-0 run by himself which put the Longhorns in front, 21-18. West Virginia responded with a 6-0 run, as Suemnick threw down another dunk in the process.
In the second half on Tuesday, West Virginia had a lead and lost it. Tonight, the same thing seemed to be happening for the home team.
Between Abmas not being able to miss and WVU’s inability to make free throws, Texas was able to hang around throughout the second half.
Dylan Disu made a layup with 8:37 to play, cutting WVU’s lead to four. West Virginia answered in a huge way with a 7-0 run, ending with Quinn Slazinski making a pair of free throws with 5:45 to play, as they led 59-48.
From there, the Longhorns would not make things easy. They turned up the pressure, and Abmas found his stroke.
Kerr Kriisa had his pocket picked by Chendall Weaver, leading to an easy dunk which put Texas down six. Suemnick made a pair of free throws, but then Abmas began to take over. He scored the final 17 points for the Longhorns, while WVU missed six free throws over the final 2:40.
Texas had an opportunity to take control of the game with Abmas at the line. He made his first shot, but missed his second. Leading by five, Texas got the offensive rebound, before Abmas tried to get a layup, before RaeQuan Battle rejected the shot.
Battle would try to put the game into his hands on the other end, but missed the shot. Slazinski was there for the offensive rebound, before he was fouled, keeping WVU in front by six.
Texas’ pressure over the final minute caused problems for the Mountaineers as they tried to get the ball in bounds. With 45 seconds left, Noah Farrakhan found a cutting Akok Akok for a slam dunk, before he missed the ensuing free throw as he was fouled.
Abmas wouldn’t go down without a fight, 10 points over the final 1:08. In the closing seconds, Battle made a pair of free throws, while Slazinski went 1 for 2 at the line, but there wasn’t enough time as Abmas turned the ball over, and the West Virginia was able to hold on.
WVU shot 45 percent from the field on the night, while they went 7 for 17 from three. The Mountaineers also kept pace in the paint, as Texas only outscored WVU by two. The Mountaineers went 27 for 41 at the free throw line, and despite the inconsistency, they were able to secure the win.
