West Virginia Turns Up the Intensity for 19-point Comeback Win

The West Virginia defense clamped down and the offense got into a rhythm in the Mountaineers' come from behind victory.

Stillwater, OK - After trailing by 19 points with just over 11 minutes to play, the No. 14 West Virginia Mountaineers (9-3, 2-2) stormed back to beat the Oklahoma State Cowboys (7-3, 1-3) 87-84 on Monday night.

Oklahoma Stated started the game 5-5 from the field and jumped out a 14-7 lead while West Virginia shot just 25% (3-12) from the floor. The poor shooting continued throughout the first half, but offensive put backs kept the Mountaineers within reach.

West Virginia forward Derek Culver had a double double in the first half with 11 points and 10 rebounds, with five rebounds coming on the offensive glass. He finished the game with 22 points and a season-high 19 rebounds.

“We had a little sit down yesterday, he and I, about how far he’s come and why do we not want to continue down that path,” said West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins. “I didn’t think he gave us the kind of effort that we need to have from him. I mean, our guys look to him, and he’s a guy, when we need a basket, he’s that guy that we're going to throw the ball to. And tonight is probably the most minutes he’s played in quite a while and maybe all year.”

Defensively, West Virginia looked slow and confused as the Cowboy offense ripped apart the Mountaineer defense led by 16 first half points from guard Isaac Likekele and take a 45-35 advantage into halftime.

“We weren’t getting any pressure on the ball. We had no ball pressure, and so they were kind of standing around picking us apart with open people, and their dribble penetration was absolutely killing us.”

Oklahoma State built a 19-point lead and appeared to be running away with the game nearing the midway point of the second half. Huggins was searching for answers and looking down his bench, he turned to guard Kedrian Johnson in the hopes of slowing down the Cowboys.

“It was, ‘Kede' can you go stop somebody?' and he said ‘yes, sir’ and I thought he was terrific.,” said Huggins.

As Johnson picked up the intensity on the defensive end, Taz Sherman and Miles “Deuce” McBride heated up on the offense end, busting back-to-back threes and orchestrated a 15-1 run to get the Mountaineers back within 5 with just under eight minutes remaining. Sherman ended the night tying a career-high 20 points, with 13 of them coming in the second half.

“For whatever reason, we’ve struggled from the perimeter, and he’s been our most consistent perimeter shooter,” said Huggins. “You put him in the same backcourt with Deuce, and then we can make some shots it, and it makes a heck of a difference, and it opens things up a lot for Derek as well.”

As a team, West Virginia was relentless on defense as Johnson was leading the way pressuring the ball and weaving around picks, not giving an inch, and buried a three to cut the deficit to four.

West Virginia Mountaineers guard Kedrian Johnson (0) and guard Taz Sherman (12) celebrate after defeating the Oklahoma State Cowboys 87-84 at Gallagher-Iba Arena / Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports

“I thought 'Key' did an unbelievable job for us today coming off the bench. He gives us another guy who’s got really good foot quickness, and he’s really fast. So, he gets to the ball so much faster than what some of our other guys do. We’re a little dinged up. We got some guys with some toe problems and so forth; it’s limited their mobility, I guess, a little bit. He was far and away the difference in the game.”

Culver’s toughness underneath kept the Mountaineers within two possessions until McBride took over the game and scored eight straight points, capped off with a deep three off the left wing to give West Virginia a four-point lead as he delivered 19 second half points.

“He loves those moments. He loves the opportunity to take charge. He got in foul trouble; we didn’t play him as much in the first half so, he was a little fresher, I think. He loves the moment. He’s a guy that doesn’t shy away from the challenge.”

The Mountaineers finished out the game going 4-6 from the free throw line and holding on to the 87-84 win.

However, the recent loss of Oscar Tshiebwe has the Mountaineers adjusting on the fly in the early portion of the Big 12 Conference schedule. Still, defense has been an issue all season long, especially the last two games.

“I don’t think we can be any worse defensively than what we’ve been the last two games,” said Huggins. “Until at the end of the game, we were horrible. We just gave so many straight-line drives, we gave so many middle drives it almost seemed like everything we said don’t do, they did. So, we’re going to have to get better defensively. No matter what we do, we’re going to have to get better defensively.”

West Virginia welcomes in the No. 4 Texas Longhorns this Saturday at 1:00 pm on ESPN.

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the page's top righthand corner. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook & Twitter:

Facebook - @WVUonSI

Twitter - @SI_WVU and Christopher Hall @WVHallBilly