Neither an early defensive prowess nor a late-game explosion for Javon Small could get the job done for WVU.
After jumping to a 25-13 lead in the first half, West Virginia fell apart at TCU on Wednesday, leading to a 65-60 loss.
The final minutes of the first and the opening minutes of the second doomed West Virginia in the loss. The Mountaineers allowed a 6-0 TCU run with just over three minutes remaining in the first then saw their lead cut to one at the end of the half. For the first 10 minutes of the second period, only fifth-years Eduardo Andre and Joseph Yesufu scored for West Virginia.
As the Mountaineers struggled to get going in the second, TCU’s Noah Reynolds took off, going for nine points early in the period to go up to 20 total. Reynolds transferred to TCU from Green Bay this season.
Before Toby Okani got on the board in the period, Andre and Yesufu combined for just 10 WVU points in the half. Okani broke the Mountaineer slump with a spin move and floater inside.
Javon Small, the Big 12’s leading scorer on the season, took advantage of the break in momentum, quickly scoring a three and a two, followed by consecutive West Virginia stops, to cut TCU’s lead to 54-50 with just under six minutes to go. Small ended his highlight sequence with a three-pointer from the logo to put WVU within one.
Following Small’s scoring outburst, TCU picked up two points out of a timeout but then left Jonathan Powell open from near the same spot Small made his game-changing three. Powell knocked it down for his only points in nine attempts from the field and eight shots from three, tying the game at 56 points.
After Small recorded his final highlight, a steal followed by a fast break through coverage, the Mountaineers tied the game up once again at 58 but then saw the game run away from them. Vasean Allette, another TCU newcomer, made big moves inside to score 14 in the second half and 22 in the game.
Defensively, West Virginia shined early in the contest, holding TCU to 3-for-12 shooting from the field and forcing nine turnovers in the game’s first 10 minutes. Shortly thereafter, the Horned Frogs found their away through the top-20 defense, finishing the first with just one more turnover and allowing just five in the second with 11-for-22 shooting.
The brutal ending to a hard-fought game dampens WVU’s road trip, which kicked off Sunday with a win at Cincinnati. WVU is now just 5-6 in Big 12 play despite four wins against ranked opponents on the season. The Mountaineers are 14-8 overall. TCU improved to 12-10 overall and 5-6 in conference play.
WVU rounds out its three-game week at home against Utah on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. at the WVU Coliseum.
Photo by Korey Moore, Blue Gold Sports
