Field Level Media
Feb 20, 2021
Miles McBride scored 17 points and Sean McNeil added 16 as No. 13 West Virginia held on for an 84-82 win over No. 12 Texas on Saturday afternoon in a crucial Big 12 Conference game in Austin, Texas.
The Mountaineers trailed by 19 points early in the second half but roared back to take the lead at 78-76 on a pair of free throws by Taz Sherman with 4:37 to play.
Texas momentarily regained the advantage on a pair of 3-pointers by Courtney Ramey before a pair of free throws by Sherman and another by McBride granted the Mountaineers a 84-82 edge.
The Longhorns' Andrew Jones missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds to play. After the ball bounced out of bounds and a pair of timeouts, Texas' Jericho Sims had his attempted layup tipped at the buzzer.
Derek Culver, Sherman and Emmitt Matthews Jr. scored 14 points each for West Virginia (15-6, 8-4 Big 12).
Ramey made seven 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 28 points before fouling out with 2:27 to play. Matt Coleman III had 20 points and Sims scored 14 for the Longhorns (13-6, 7-5).
The Longhorns ran out to an early 11-point lead before West Virginia clawed back to within 41-39 on a 3-pointer by Sherman at the 3:21 mark. Texas then charged into halftime with a 12-4 run to take a 53-43 lead to the break.
Texas' 53 first-half points is a season high. Ramey led the way for the Longhorns in the first half with 13 points, with Coleman adding 12 and Sims hitting for 10 over the first 20 minutes. Texas was 21 of 30 from the floor in the half (70 percent) when it hit 7 of its 12 3-pointers.
McBride paced the Mountaineers with 10 points in the half as West Virginia stayed close despite shooting 38 percent.
Two 3-pointers by Ramey and another by Coleman in the first two minutes of the second half pushed the Longhorns' lead to 62-43. West Virginia battled back into the game, drawing to within 74-71 after a 3-pointer by McNeil with 8:08 to play.
--Field Level Media