WVU Falls Short After Battling No. 3 Kansas

Lawrence, KS - The West Virginia Mountaineers (16-13, 5-11) fell shy of capturing their first win in Allen Fieldhouse Saturday evening, 76-74, against the third-ranked Kansas Jayhawks (24-5, 12-4).

West Virginia won the opening tip and immediately fed the ball to forward Tre Mitchell on the post for the early bucket, but five early turnovers gave Kansas a 7-6 lead heading into the first media timeout.

Kansas followed with five turnovers as guard Erik Stevenson and Tre Mitchell both buried a as part of an 8-0 run to grab a 19-14 lead, but the Jayhawks quickly responded with a 7-0 spurt and reclaimed the advantage, 21-19 at the 7:14 mark of the first half.

The Mountaineers responded, scoring five unanswered and capped off with a three from Mitchell, and he later added a bucket with just over two minutes of the half to maintain a three-point edge and for his 12th point of the half.

Kansas ended the half on a 5-0 run to take a 35-33 lead into halftime.

West Virgina captured a two-point advantage, 42-40, at the 17:11 mark following a pair of free throws from Stevenson, but the Jayhawks ripped off seven-straight points to take a six-point advantage.

Tre Mitchell got the Mountaineers within two, 58-56, under the midway point of the second half, prompting Kansas head coach Bill Self to take a timeout.

Kansas' Kevin McCullar hit a three to put the Jayhawks up six, bringing the crowd to its feet, but Kedrian Johnson hit a step back jumper to quiet three. Moments later, Stevenson buried a three from the right wing to get the Mountaineers back within three with 3:53 remaining in the game.

With West Virginia down by five with 39 seconds left to play, Kedrian Johnson hit a pair of free throws, then on the inbounds pass, forward Emmitt Matthews. Jr. stole the ball under the basket and laid it in and the Mountaineers trailed by one with 33 seconds left on the clock.

Kansas forward Jalen Wilson went 1 -2 from the free throw line to extend the lead to two. On the final possession, Joe Toussaint drove to the basket, made an attempt that was blocked before turning the ball over on a travel and Kansas survived 76-74.

You can follow us for future coverage by liking us on Facebook & following us Twitter:

Facebook - @MountaineersNow

Twitter - @MountaineersNow and Christopher Hall @WVHallBilly

Add us as a preferred source on Google