West Virginia Takes Down No. 14 TCU

Mountaineers upset Horned Frogs

Morgantown, WV - The West Virginia Mountaineers (11-7, 1-5) captured their first Big 12 Conference win Wednesday night with an 74-65 upset win over the 14th-ranked TCU Horned Frogs (14-4, 3-3). 

West Virginia guard Erik Stevenson hit a baseline jumper to tie the game at two and capped a 9-0 Mountaineer run with a three to give WVU the early 9-2 lead. 

TCU cut the lead to four and was on the verge of getting back within a possession but consecutive steals from Kedrian Johnson and Erik Stevenson created easy opportunities for the Mountaineers, highlighted by Stevenson throwing an alley-oop to Emmitt Matthews Jr., surging a 13-3 Mountaineer run to grab a 24-10 lead at the midway point of the first half. 

West Virginia built a 17-point first half lead and took a 15-point advantage into halftime with seven Mountaineers adding to the 39-15 lead. Johnson led all scorers with 10 points and Jimmy Belle Jr. had 10 points and 10 rebounds. 

Jan 18, 2023; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Joe Toussaint (5) shoots during the second half against the TCU Horned Frogs at WVU Coliseum / Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

West Virginia maintained its advantage until Emanuel Miller scored six-straight as part of an 8-0 TCU run to cut the deficit to nine, 56-47. 

Trey Mitchell picked up a technical foul after emphatically explaining to the official he was fouled on the turnover. TCU hit both free throws, but the Mountaineers forced a turnover and Matthews elevated for a two-handed slam to push the WVU lead back up to eight, 60-52 with seven minutes left to play in the game. 

Frustration was mounting for West Virginia and the Horned Frogs took advantage with an 8-2 run to get within two with just over five minutes remaining. 

However, West Virginia responded, starting with Bell hitting a pair of free throws, followed with a dunk, Toussiant with a tough contested jumper as the Mountaineers orchestrated a 10-2 run and finished with a 75-65 victory. 

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