Lubbock, TX – The West Virginia Mountaineers (12-8, 2-7) claimed their first conference road win in two years after defeating the Texas Tech Raiders (10-10, 0-8) 76-61 on Wednesday night. WVU guard Joe Toussaint led all scorers with 22 points.
After starting the game 1-7 from the floor, committing five turnovers and trailing 10-2 at halftime, West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins took his starters off the floor and guard Seth Wilson closed the gap to 10. -5 at the 14:29 mark of the first half.
West Virginia forward James Okonkwo (32) looks to catch the ball during a Big 12 basketball game against Texas Tech at United Supermarkets Arena.
Annie Rice / Avalanche-Journal / USA Today Network
Point guard Joe Toussaint hit a deep three as the shot clock dwindled, then Wilson banked in the second half to cut the deficit to three, 18-15, with nine minutes left in the half.
Texas Tech guard Kerwin Walton responded by knocking the ball to the ground as WVU guard Eric Stevenson approached it and was assessed a technical foul. Stevenson hit a pair of layups and both free throws on the bonus layup to take the game’s first lead, 22-21, with 4:26 to play in the half.
West Virginia claimed a five-point advantage after Stevenson drove to the basket and hit Trey Mitchell for a three in the left corner as the Mountaineers led 33-28 heading into halftime.
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The second half started at the whistle and Texas Tech head coach Mark Adams had seen enough, running to midcourt in protest and getting a technical foul in the process. Stevenson again hit four straight free throws to push the Mountaineers to within seven, 38-31.
A 6-0 spurt brought the Red Raiders back within one, but Wilson immediately banked in a three to give West Virginia the Mountaineer lead by four. 41-37, at the 14:07 mark of the first half.
West Virginia forward James Okonkwo (32) looks to catch the ball during a Big 12 basketball game against Texas Tech at United Supermarkets Arena.
Michael C. Johnson-America Today Sports
A rebound by Wilson and forward James Okonkwo led to a bucket and a foul as Okonkwo completed a three-point play to give the Mountaineers an eight-minute lead with less than nine minutes to play.
West Virginia forward Muhammad Waugh hit a two-handed layup to extend the Mountaineer’s lead to 10. Then, after Tech went 1-2 from the free throw line, Joe Toussaint hit the opposing runner to give WVU a 65-44 win with four minutes left. The rest of the game.
Coming into the game, the Mountaineers shot a Big 12-worst 64.2% from the free throw line during league play, but shot 80% on the night, including 7-8 in a 76-61 win over West Virginia.
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