Field Level Media
Mar 6, 2019
It only took one 12-minute stretch of the first half to ensure that Wednesday's Big 12 contest between Iowa State and West Virginia wasn't going to follow conventional wisdom.
Junior guard Jermaine Haley scored a career-high 28 points to lead West Virginia to a 90-75 upset of the Cyclones in Morgantown, W. Va., a game that turned over the final 11:39 of the first half.
Freshman Jordan McCabe scored 18 points, freshman Derek Culver had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and junior Lamont West had 12 points and 12 rebounds to flank Haley for West Virginia (12-18, 4-13 Big 12).
Sophomore Lindell Wigginton had 17 points and six rebounds for Iowa State (20-10, 9-8), which has now lost four of five games.
Starting with a 12-0 run over a span of 3:18, West Virginia ended up outscoring Iowa State 36-13 over the 12-minute time period to take a 54-33 lead at halftime.
It was an improbable spurt, given going in Iowa State allowed just 67.7 points for an entire game this season, while West Virginia averaged 76.6 points a contest.
Iowa State put a minor dent in its deficit to start the second half, cutting the West Virginia lead to 69-55 with 13:12 remaining.
The Cyclones soon went on a 7-1 run to cut West Virginia's lead down to 10 at 72-62 with 9:21 remaining.
But West Virginia held firm from there, extending its lead back to 17 at 84-67 with 3:19 left to all but the put the game away.
Haley accumulated his game-high point total on 13-of-20 shooting from the field overall, including 11 of 16 from 2-point shots.
He also added seven rebounds and three steals.
The Mountaineers shot 47.8. percent from the field overall and were 11 of 27 from 3-point range and outrebounded Iowa State 44-34.
The Cyclones shot 43.8 percent from the field and were 7 of 24 from behind the arc.
--Field Level Media