West Virginia Falls in Fort Worth

The Mountaineers comeback from an 11-point deficit but fall short to the TCU Horned Frogs

Feb 5, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Javon Small (7) shoots during the first half against the TCU Horned Frogs at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Fort Worth, TX – West Virginia shot 8-30 from three-point range and was 2-5 from the free throw line while TCU went 20-23 from the charity stripe as the Mountaineers (14-8, 5-6) fall to the Horned Frogs (12-10, 5-6) Wednesday night 65-60.

West Virginia senior guard Javon Small led the Mountaineers with 20 points while sophomore guard Vasean Allette led all scorers with 22 points.

After Vasean Allette opened the game with a step back jumper, West Virginia put together a 10- 0 run behind four steals and a pair of layups from Sencire Harris for the 10-2 lead at the 13:41 mark of the first half.

TCU countered with a 5-0 spurt, but the Mountaineers answered with a cut to the basket down the middle of a wide-open lane and off the feed from sophomore forward Amani Hansberry and senior guard Javon Small followed with the steal and a three to put WVU back up eight, 15-7.

West Virginia stretched its lead to 12 after a dunk by senior guard Toby Okani but the Mountaineers were held to two field goals in the final six minutes of the half while TCU constructed a 15-4 run to pull within one as WVU took a 29-28 lead into halftime.

TCU began the second half with a 7-0 run to take a 35-29 lead at the 16:31 mark with Allette with a pair of offensive putbacks.

TCU senior guard Noah Reynolds scored nine straight and a short turnaround jumper from redshirt freshman Jace Posey extended the Horned Frogs lead to ten, 46-36, with 12:06 remaining in the game.

The Horned Frogs were leading by 11 at the 7:56 mark before Okani cut it to single digits with a layup, the Javon Small scored eight straight for a 10-0 to pull within one before freshman guard Jonathan Powell hit a three from the left wing to tie the game a 56 with 3:53 left to play in the game.

With the game tied at 58, Allette drove down the left side of the lane, drew the foul and the bucket to give TCU a 61-58 lead with a minute remaining in the game.

Small missed a three to tie the game, and on the Horned Frogs’ ensuing possession, Allette gets the offensive rebound and the putback as TCU takes the victory 65-60.