West Virginia Falls to No. 6 Kansas

Jayhawks pull away late to knock off Mountaineers

The West Virginia Mountaineers (14-12, 3-10) shot 27.9% (19-68) from the field in the 71-58 loss to the sixth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks (22-4, 11-2) Saturday night. Big 12 Conference Player of the Year frontrunner, Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji led all scorers with 23 points while West Virginia guard Sean McNeil scored a team-leading 18 points. 

Sean McNeil tied the game at nine with a three before Kansas went on an 11-0 run to take the 20-9 lead in the first nine minutes of action. 

Kansas started 6-10 from the field, but the Mountaineers defense began to tighten, forcing nine first half turnovers and holding the Jayhawks to 5-19 from the field in the final 11 minutes. However, West Virginia couldn't take advantage of the extra opportunities, shooting just 29.7% from the field in the first half but managed to cut the deficit to six, 33-27 at the break. 

Kansas Jayhawks forward David McCormack (33) shoots over West Virginia Mountaineers forward Isaiah Cottrell (13) during the first half at WVU Coliseum / Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji ignited a 9-0 run with a triple after West Virginia forward Jalen Bridges got the Mountaineers within three to begin the second half to stretch the lead to twelve. 

Taz Sherman ended the run with a tough jumper in the paint, starting a 13-2 run highlighted by a pair of three's from McNeil and a triple from Sherman to cap it off, and cutting the Kansas lead to just one with 12:40 remaining in the game. 

The Jayhawks steadily built a double-digit advantage due to the Mountaineers hitting just one field goal in eight minutes of action, but McNeil's fourth three on the night had WVU within nine with 3:17 remaining in the game, but Kansas closed the game out, extending the lead to 13 and picking up the 71-58 victory. 

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

Facebook - @WVUonSI

Twitter - @SI_WVU and Christopher Hall @WVHallBilly