West Virginia seemed unable to click until a 16-0 run got them going midway through the second half as they defeated Georgetown 73-60 in a Big 12-Big East Battle.
With the win West Virginia improves to 6-2 on the season. The Mountaineers hand Georgetown their second loss of the season, pushing their record to 7-2.
Javon Small led all scorers with 26 points, while Sencire Harris led the Mountaineers with nine boards, a career-high for him. As a team, West Virginia forced 14 turnovers, which they scored 19 points off.
Georgetown struck first with a three, but WVU soon got off to a hot start. They had a 7-0 run that had them leading 7-3 in the early going.
The Mountaineers forced three turnovers by the U16 media timeout in the first half, which contributed to their early run. Georgetown took the advantage with about 14 minutes to go in the first half, leading 10-9.
The Hoyas maintained their lead until West Virginia tied the game at 18, but Georgetown stepped back out in front shortly after. The Mountaineers struggled from behind the arc but were moving the ball effectively.
WVU took the lead with just about five minutes to go, but Georgetown took it right back. The game was tied at 25 at the U4 media timeout as each team looked to build a solid lead heading into the locker rooms.
At halftime, West Virginia trailed 30-28. The Mountaineers held a slight edge in the turnover battle but struggled from three, shooting just three of 11.
The Hoyas’ Jayden Epps and Small were tied at half for leading scorers, both with 13 points. It was shaping up to be an exciting second half with West Virginia down by two.
While West Virginia continued to trail for just over the first five minutes of the second half, they tied the game, but Georgetown regained control. It wasn’t until 11:18 when the Mountaineers took their first lead of the half as a part of a 6-0 run.
WVU continued that run with 16 unanswered points and led by double digits. With three and a half minutes to go, West Virginia led 59-53.
Georgetown ended a scoring drought nearing three minutes with a three-point basket with under two minutes left to play, making the game 64-56. West Virginia had the game pretty much locked up with a big lead late.
The Mountaineers successfully closed out the game, defeating Georgetown 73-60.
WVU’s next game is at home on Tuesday against North Carolina Central as they look to continue to rack up wins in nonconference play.
