No. 23 West Virginia's Woes Continue, Drop Second Straight Game

The 23rd-ranked Mountaineers fall to the Kansas State Wildcats and suffers first back-to-back loss of the season

Jan 25, 2025; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Kansas State Wildcats forward Coleman Hawkins (33) is guarded by West Virginia Mountaineers guard Toby Okani (5) during the first half at Bramlage Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-Imagn Images | Scott Sewell-Imagn Images

Manhattan, KS – No. 23 West Virginia shot 24.1% in the first half and trailed 42-18 at the half and could not overcome the 24-point deficit as the Kansas State Wildcats (8-11, 2-6) handed the Mountaineers (13-6, 4-4) its second consecutive loss 73-60.

West Virginia senior guard Javon Small led all scorers with 22 points with five assists and sophomore guard Sencire Harris put in 12 points to with nine rebounds.

West Virginia center Eduardo Andre scored the first bucket for the Mountaineers off the feed from senior guard Toby Okani, but Kansas State followed with a 10-0 run capped with threes from Max Jones and Brendan Hausen for a 12-2 lead heading into the first media timeout.

Out of the break, Kansas State stretched its run to 17 straight points before WVU head coach Darian DeVries called out timeout. Then, Small drove to the bucket, drew the foul and hit both free throws to end a near seven-minute scoring drought to cut the deficit to fifteen, 19-4 at the 12:06 mark of the first half.

Javon Small cut the Kansas State lead to 12, nonetheless, Jones came right back with a three from the left wing, and the Wildcats quickly the steal and Jones was on the receiving end of alley-oop to return the lead to 17.

Kansas State, Big 12 Conference’s worst three-point shooting team, began the game shooting 5-8 from three-point range to maintain the 17-point advantage, 31-14, with 7:04 remaining in the half.

West Virginia started the game 1-11 from the field and the struggles continued through the first half, finishing 7-29 while K-State shot over 53.3% (16-30) and closed the half with an 11-2 run to take 42-18 lead into halftime.

West Virginia attacked the basket to open the second half and started with a 9-2 run with sophomore forward Amani Hansberry capping a 9-2 run with his only three of the afternoon to pull get the Mountaineers back within 15 and force Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang to call a timeout.

The Mountaineers struggled to string another run together but kept pace with the Wildcats with five-point swings in favor of one another.

West Virginia was within 14 at the 11:05 mark but went 1-9 while Kansas State stretched the lead back to 20 with 5:42 remaining in the game.

West Virginia dwindled the lead to 12 with two minutes remaining but Kansas finished from the free throw line, hitting 5-6 to take the 73-60 victory.