Although the game was relatively close throughout, No. 5 Texas had the upper hand in the Gulf Coast Showcase, defeating No. 12 West Virginia 78-73.
The Mountaineers shot over 54% from the field but committed five more turnovers. 26 of Texas’ points came from free throws.
WVU was also heavily out-rebounded 37-23.
Another key stat
After a slow start, JJ Quinerly led all scorers with 29 points. Jordan Harrison had 20.
The Mountaineers forced three turnovers early but struggled shooting after making their first shot. West Virginia also committed five turnovers in the first five minutes.
Texas didn’t make a field goal for an extended period during the first quarter, making one right before the buzzer. WVU trailed 17-12, with Harrison having eight of the 12.
In the second quarter, the Mountaineers came within three points of Texas, but the Longhorns began building a lead. They went on a 9-0 run and led by double digits.
WVU made a run of their own, 6-0, as Texas once again struggled to make a FG. The Mountaineers ended the first half by making five of their last seven FG attempts and trailed by six.
In the first half, West Virginia committed four more turnovers but had four more steals. In the second half, they looked to clean up their turnovers while scoring efficiently.
In the third quarter, West Virginia had a quick 6-0 run and came within five points of UT under five minutes left to go in the third. At the start of the fourth quarter, WVU trailed by eight and needed a strong showing in the fourth to stay undefeated.
The Mountaineers’ scoring drought lasted over two minutes in the fourth quarter, which hurt their chances, but they remained close. Towards the latter half of the fourth quarter, the two teams were exchanging field goals as the Longhorns held the lead.
Things looked bleak for West Virginia with about a minute and a half left to go as they trailed by nine. However, WVU went on a quick 6-0 run to make the game 72-68 and forced UT to call timeout with 1:14 left.
Coming out of the timeout, the Mountaineers continued their run and were only down by two. Texas answered back right away, though, going back up by four.
In the late stages, the game was three points. Texas ultimately held on to win 78-73.
West Virginia will look to bounce back when they host East Tennessee State on Friday for Education Day.
