WVU basketball: Mountaineers handle Bears on road
The WVU basketball team snapped Baylor’s five-game winning streak on Tuesday in Waco.
The Mountaineers earned a 71-60 victory against the Bears which showed the resiliency of the WVU basketball team. Coming off a frustrating loss at Kansas, the Mountaineers buckled down and jumped out to a huge lead in the first half.
At halftime, the WVU basketball team had a 40-18 advantage. But no lead is safe when the WVU basketball team appears to be in charge. The Mountaineers had some difficulty in maintaining that lead all the way through, but still managed to hold on for a double-digit victory.
The WVU basketball team led by 28 points at one juncture, but still held on by playing solid defense and making shots at the right time. The Mountaineers were led in scoring by Esa Ahmad and Jevon Carter who each had 15.
Sagaba Konate scored 10 points and had nine blocks, which tied a single-game WVU basketball record. In a recent article, Hail WV discussed how Konate ranks up there with the best shot blockers in all of West Virginia history. Having a game like he did against Baylor really shows that he not only belongs in the discussion, but is at the center of it.
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The Bears actually had more rebounds than the WVU basketball team at 39-35. For West Virginia, Konate had 10 rebounds. For Baylor, Jo Lual-Acuil had 10 rebounds. He also led all scorers with 16 points. Also for the Bears, Manu Lecomte had 12 points and King Leclure had eight.
The Bears played a lot better in the second half than they did in the first. They attempted improved their field goal shooting percentage from 19 percent in the first to 43 percent in the second. West Virginia shot 53 percent in the first half to build its big lead.
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The WVU basketball team is now 20-8 on the season and, if there was any doubt before, should have secured its spot in the NCAA Tournament. Baylor is still in the hunt sitting at 17 wins. The Mountaineers play again on Saturday at home against Iowa State.