National Basketball Association
West Virginia 87, Kansas St. 83
When: 12:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 2, 2016
Where: Fred Bramlage Coliseum, Manhattan, Kansas
Officials:
# Tom O'Neill, # Marques Pettigrew, # Bert Smith
Attendance:
12270
By The Sports Xchange
MANHATTAN, Kan. -- West Virginia reserve guard Tarik Phillip sank the go-ahead jumper in double-overtime as the No. 19 Mountaineers survived their Big 12 opener Saturday.
Forward Jonathan Holton made West Virginia's lead stand by blocking the potential tying shot with 7 seconds left against visiting Kansas State for a tense 87-83 victory.
In a game that featured 29 lead changes and 19 ties, West Virginia (12-1, 1-0 Big 12) overcame subpar outputs from leading scorers Devin Williams and Jevon Carter. Jaysean Paige scored 25 off the bench, including nine points late in regulation when the Mountaineers switched to a 1-3-1 zone and climbed out of a 59-53 deficit.
"We couldn't keep (Kansas State) from driving to the rim, and the way the game was called, if you drove it at the rim you went to the free-throw line," WVU coach Bob Huggins said. "We probably would've fouled a bunch of guys out if we wouldn't have gone to the zone."
Kansas State (10-3, 0-1) got from a season-high 20 points from guard Barry Brown and 16 from forward Wesley Iwundu but dropped to 8-1 at Bramlage Coliseum and 0-3 against ranked teams.
"We compete with top-25 teams -- we've got to find a way to beat one of them," Wildcats coach Bruce Weber said.
Williams, the leading scorer for West Virginia at 15.5 points per game, was held scoreless until the 11-minute mark of the second half. He managed only seven points and five rebounds while finishing with more turnovers (three) than baskets (two).
Carter scored six points, seven below his average. After missing a twisting jumper at the end of regulation with the score tied 69-69 and a fall-away 3 pointer to end the first overtime at 75-75, Carter sank two clinching free throws with 5 seconds left in double-overtime.
Phillip finished with five assists and 14 points, the biggest basket a floater with 1:05 left that snapped an 83-83 tie. Two possessions later, Iwindu had a driving layup swatted down by Holton, and the ball went out of bounds to West Virginia.
Phillip sank 6-of-8 shots, Elijah Macon was 4-for-4 and Paige aggressively attacked the basket as West Virginia enjoyed a 54-30 edge in bench scoring.
"We had a lot of guys step up," said Huggins, whose team won its fourth straight against K-State.
K-State freshman point guard Kamau Stokes scored 15 points and freshman forward Dean Wade added 13 points with eight rebounds.
West Virginia erased a 24-15 deficit -- its largest first-half hole this season -- with a 12-1 run before K-State stabilized on Brown's 3-pointer and led 34-33 at the half. The margin should have been three points but officials missed a last-possession goaltend when West Virginia's Elijah Macon blocked Iwundu's layup after it caromed off the backboard.
"It was a hard game to ref," Weber said.
NOTES: West Virginia was among the worst foul-shooting teams in Division I, but Kansas State sank only 7 of 17 free throws in the first half and finished 28 of 43. ... West Virginia's 25.8 average margin-of-victory was the second-largest nationally entering Saturday. ... Leading Division I with 21.9 forced turnovers, West Virginia committed 15 and forced the same. ... The game featured two of the top three 3-point defenses, with WVU holding opposing shooters to 24.5 percent and Kansas State allowing only 25.3 percent. WVU made only 3-of-20 and Kansas State was 3-of-19. ... The game marked a reunion for West Virginia's Daxter Miles and K-State's Stokes, former teammates at Dunbar High in Baltimore.
Top Game Performances
West Virginia |
|
Kansas St. |
Jaysean Paige 25 |
Scoring |
Barry Brown 20 |
Tarik Phillip 5 |
Assists |
Justin Edwards 3 |
Jaysean Paige 7 |
Rebounds |
Dean Wade 8 |
Jaysean Paige 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Barry Brown 6 |
Daxter Miles Jr. 3 |
Steals |
Justin Edwards 2 |
Jonathan Holton 2 |
Blocks |
Dean Wade 1 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
West Virginia
|
87 |
47.1 |
3-20 |
20-31 |
17 |
37 |
4 |
10 |
15 |
Kansas St.
|
83 |
44.8 |
3-19 |
28-43 |
15 |
34 |
1 |
6 |
15 |