The West Virginia men’s basketball team fell to No. 10 Houston 70-54 in the second game of their two-game road swing Wednesday evening. The loss marked their first loss to a ranked team and second conference loss.
The first half started off with back and forth play. The Cougars got on the board first but sophomore guard Sencire Harris responded with a dunk followed by three three-pointers by senior guard Javon Small.
The score was tied 18-18 eight minutes into the half when Houston began to pull away. The half ended with a score of 40-27. Houston put up better stats in the first half shooting for 65.4% and two turnovers compared to the Mountaineers’ 46.2% and seven turnovers.
West Virginia came into the second half more energized. They made it on the board first, closing Houston’s gap to just five points. Amani Hansberry made four shots, three of them being from the three-point range. Hansberry put up 12 points within the first eight minutes of the second half. The Mountaineers moved the score to 51-48.
Houston responded with a 14-0 run moving their lead to double digits making it almost impossible for West Virginia to come back.
The Mountaineers now hold a record of 12-4 (3-2 in Big 12). They face No. 2 Iowa State at home Saturday evening in a sold out arena.
