West Virginia Tames No. 11 Wildcats

The Mountaineers sent the seniors out with the win, knocking off No. 11 Kansas State

Morgantown, WV - West Virginia guard Erik Stevenson led all scorers with 27 points while guard Kedrian Johnson scored 23 and forward Emmitt Matthews Jr put in 20 as the Mountaineers (18-13, 7-11) defeated the No. 11 Kansas State Wildcats (23-8, 11-6) Saturday afternoon 89-81. 

West Virginia was off to a sluggish start, shooting 0-2 from the field and committed two turnovers as Kansas State jumped out to an 8-0 advantage before WVU head coach Bob Huggins called a timeout.

Kedrian Johnson buried a three out of the break, but K-State forward Keyontae Johnson answered with a three of his own to extend the Wildcats lead back to eight, 11-3.

The Mountaineers constructed an 11-2 run which was ignited by an Erik Stevenson three and capped off with an emphatic offensive putback from forward Emmitt Matthews Jr, and claimed their first lead of the afternoon, 14-13, at the 14:30 mark of the first half. 

Kansas State responded and regained the lead with an 11-0 run guided by three Mountaineer turnovers but West Virginia again battled back. WVU forward Pat Suemnick brought the energy off the bench with an offensive rebound and putback before Matthews ripped of six points, propelling the Mountaineers to a 13-3 run and tie the game at 31 with 4:53 remaining in the first half. 

West Virginia went into halftime with a 39-37 lead. Matthews led all scorers at the break with 16 points and five rebounds and Kedrian Johnson put in 11 points. 

Mar 4, 2023; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers forward Tre Mitchell (3) gestures after a basket during the first half against the Kansas State Wildcats at WVU Coliseum / Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

Erik Stevenson opened the second half with a three as WVU built a seven-point advantage, but Markquis Nowell buried a three on the ensuing possession to get the Wildcats back within four, 48-44, at the 16:67 mark.

Stevenson drilled his third three of the second half to give West Virginia a 10-point lead. 

Markquis Nowell twice cut the deficit to eight with a three and a tough drive to basket but an 8-1 WVU run extended the Mountaineer lead to 15 with 4:31 left to play in the game. 

A 5-0 spurt from the Wildcats capped with a three from Cam Carter got Kansas State back within ten, 84-74 with just over two minutes remaining in the game.

Kansas State sent West Virginia to the free throw line down the stretch and finished 5-6 as the Mountaineers moved past Kansas State 89-81.

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