Field Level Media
Aug 25, 2012
Jordan McCabe racked up a career-high 25 points and 11 assists, and Derek Culver scored 22 points and grabbed a career-best 21 rebounds as West Virginia outlasted visiting TCU 104-96 in triple overtime on Tuesday in Big 12 Conference play in Morgantown, W. Va.
TCU led 91-90 after a free throw by Alex Robinson with 3:44 to play in the third overtime before the Mountaineers finally took charge, scoring the next eight points on 3-pointers by Lamont West and Chase Harler and a layup by Jermaine Haley.
Two free throws by Haley capped a 10-0 West Virginia run and pushed the score to 100-91 -- more than enough for the Mountaineers to hold on for the win and snap a five-game losing streak.
Culver's highlight-reel game made him the first West Virginia player to record a 20-point, 20-rebound performance since Maurice Robinson against City College of New York on Dec. 7, 1977.
TCU's Desmond Bane tied the game at 68 with a ringing 3-pointer with 58 seconds left in regulation, but both teams missed shots in the final minute to bring on overtime.
The Horned Frogs' RJ Nembhard had a clutch steal and layup with 55 seconds to play in the first overtime to make it 77-75 TCU before Harler's layup with 40 seconds remaining tied it up again. Both teams missed shots in the final seconds, and the game went into a second extra period.
Nembhard poured in a 3-pointer after an offensive rebound to tie it at 88 with 29 seconds to play in the second extra period. But turnovers by both teams denied shots to win the game and things went to a third overtime.
Jermaine Haley added 18 points for West Virginia (11-17, 3-12) while West hit for 17 and Harler had 13 points.
JD Miller led the Horned Frogs (18-10, 6-9) with a season-high 24 points. Kouat Noi hit for 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds before fouling out in the first minute of the second overtime, with Bane adding 17 points, Robinson scoring 16 and Nembhard tallying 15 points in the loss.
The Horned Frogs return to home for a huge game on Saturday afternoon against No. 11 Texas Tech. West Virginia travels to Norman, Okla., for a matchup with the Sooners, also on Saturday afternoon.
--Field Level Media