West Virginia Holds Off UCF Second Half Surge to Grab the Win on Senior Day

Morgantown, WV – West Virginia senior guard Javon Small got off to a hot start with 19 first half points to build a 27-point lead but UCF mounted a second half comeback and it took freshman guard Jonathan Powell to hit a pair of late threes to keep the Knights (16-15, 7-13) at bay as the Mountaineers (19-12, 10-10) held off the potential comeback and walked away with the 72-65 victory.

Small finished with a team-high 25 points, sophomore forward Amani Hansberry recorded his fourth double double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds, and freshman guard Jonathan Powell finished with 15 points.

Javon Small started with a short jumper in the paint and capped a 9-2 run to open the game with a straightway three for the early seven-point advantage.

UCF close within four but a tip-in by senior guard Toby Okani and an offensive rebound by sophomore forward Amani Hansberry led to a three for Powell to extend the Mountaineers lead to nine, 14-5 at the 15:00 mark of the first half.

Small hit consecutive threes and followed with a cut to the basket on the baseline for eight straight to put the Mountaineers up 14 near the midway point of the first half.

The West Virginia defense clamped down, holding the Knights to shoot 1-12 from the field as the Mountaineers constructed a 15-2 run for a 44-18 lead with 2:56 remaining in the half.

Small hit his fifth three of the half to stretch the West Virginia advantage to 27 but UCF ended the first half with a 5-0 spurt as the Mountaineers took a 47-22 lead into halftime.

Jonathan Powell started the second half, but freshman center Moustapha Thiam answered with a straightaway to begin a 9-0 run as the Knights cut the lead to 16 within the first two and half minutes of the first half.

Hansberry made a three from the right wing and moments later got the lay-in on a second chance opportunity to extend the lead back to 21 at the 12:28 mark of the second half.

West Virginia began struggling from the field, shooting 1-10 with the only bucket coming from Hansberry, and committed four turnovers as UCF put together a 19-4 run to pull within six, 64-58, with five minutes left to play.

Powell hit a three to end the run, but Thiam got a layup on a second chance opportunity and the Knights went on a 6-0 spurt to cut the WVU lead to three with 2:04 remaining in the game.

However, Powell answered the call again with a corner three as the Mountaineers held the Knights to a point in the final minute to hold the Knights comeback and take the win 72-65.