West Virginia Plays Tough and Upsets No. 2 Iowa State

Morgantown, WV – West Virgina senior guard Javon Small scores a game-high 27 points to lead the Mountaineers (13-4, 4-2) past the No. 2 Iowa State Cyclones (15-2, 5-1) Saturday evening 64-57.

West Virginia opened the game scoring six straight before Iowa State put together an 11-0 run, capped off with a bucket and the foul for a 11-6 lead at the 12:45 mark of the first half.

After West Virginia sophomore forward Amani Hasberry hit a three from the top of the key, the Mountaineers were held scoreless for five minutes but remained within six and Javon Small ended the drought with a straightaway three to cut the deficit to three, 15-12, with 7:19 remaining in the half.

Iowa State went on a 4-0 spurt to go up seven, but Hansberry buried a three to end the threat and senior guard Toby Okani followed with a three from the right wing as part of a 10-2 to regain the lead, 22-21 with 1:51 left to play in the half.

West Virginia took the one-point lead into halftime, 25-24.

The Mountaineers and the Cyclones traded buckets to begin the second half, but an outlet pass by Small to Jonathan Powell led to a transition layup to put WVU up three, 31-28 at the 15:59 mark of the second half.

Amani Hansberry put the Mountaineers back up two, but Curtis Jones buried a three and followed with a drive to the basket before Jonathan Powell hit three to tie the at 37 at the midway point of the second half.

Iowa State quickly regained a four-point lead, but the Mountaineers constructed another 10-2 run, highlighted by another three from Powell and senior center Eduardo Andre finished it with a steal and rushed down the floor for the lay-up and the foul to reclaim the lead 47-43 with 6:56 remaining in the game.

The Cyclones tied the game at 49 but, again, the Mountaineers responded. Senior guard Joseph Yesufu hit a tough contested layup, igniting a 10-2 run capped off with a three from Small as the Mountaineers grabbed an eight-point lead, 59-51 with 42 seconds remaining as West Virginia takes down Iowa State 64-57.