Kedrian Johnson scored 20 points and Jimmy Bell Jr. added 15 points and 12 rebounds as West Virginia held on to beat No. 14 TCU 74-65 on Wednesday in Morgantown, W.Va.
The Mountaineers (11-7, 1-5 Big 12) were up by 18 points late in the first half and by 15 at halftime before TCU roared back to pull to within 62-60 on a layup by JaKobe Coles with 5:14 to play. West Virginia gathered itself and reeled off the next six points to create some separation.
A layup by Joe Toussaint with 2:35 remaining made it 70-62, and the Horned Frogs never got closer than eight points the rest of the way.
Emmitt Matthews Jr. added 10 points for the Mountaineers, who snapped a five-game losing streak.
Mike Miles Jr. led all scorers with 21 points while Emanuel Miller and Damion Baugh added 13 each for the Horned Frogs, who lost for the third time in four games. TCU (14-4, 3-3) came into the contest averaging a nation-best 22 fastbreak points per game but had just eight on Wednesday, none of the in the first half.
The Mountaineers owned the first half, rolling to a 20-7 advantage after a putback layup by Bell at the 11:36 mark. West Virginia pushed its lead to 16 points before the Horned Frogs produced layups by Coles and Baugh on back-to-back possessions cut the margin to 33-21 with 2:43 remaining.
But West Virginia reasserted itself in the final minutes of the half, pushing its lead to 18 points on a layup by Seth Wilson with 1:06 left and then settling for a 39-24 advantage at the break.
Johnson led all scorers with 10 points before halftime, while Miles and Miller paced the Horned Frogs with seven points each. The 24 points were the fewest in the first half for TCU this season.
The Horned Frogs clawed back to within nine points with 9:20 to play when Baugh’s two free throws capped an 8-0 run.
–Field Level Media