West Virginia overtakes Cincinnati with second-half surge

Honor Huff sparked a key 14-0 second-half run with 11 consecutive points and finished with a team-leading 16, rallying West Virginia past host Cincinnati 59-54 on Thursday.

DJ Thomas added 14 points and drained two late 3-pointers, including one with 1:30 left to put West Virginia ahead 53-49. His trey with 4:05 to go gave the Mountaineers the lead for good, 49-47.

After an ice-cold start to the game from 3-point distance, West Virginia (15-8, 6-4 Big 12) found its range in the second half. The visitors used three triples as part of the key run that helped the Mountaineers wipe out a 12-point deficit and take a two-point edge in a three-plus-minute span.

Leading the surge was Huff, who came into the game tied for seventh in nation in 3-point field goals made with 78. He finished 3-for-8 from beyond the arc as West Virginia won for the fourth time in six games.

Jizzle James put up 18 points while Baba Miller added 15 points and eight rebounds for Cincinnati (11-12, 3-7).

Cincinnati took its fourth loss in five games to fall below .500 for the first time in Wes Miller’s five seasons as head coach.

The Bearcats held West Virginia without a basket for six minutes in the first half, ripping off a 12-0 run to take a 14-2 lead. James sparked the offense with a pair of 3-pointers and eight of the 14 points. James scored 10 points in the opening five minutes of the game.

The Bearcats built their lead up to as many as 13 in first half.

Miller drove to the basket for a layup in the closing seconds and Cincinnati led at the break 30-20. Miller and James led the Bearcats with 10 points apiece in the first half while Brenen Lorient had eight for the Mountaineers.

West Virginia also didn’t do itself any favors from long distance, missing all nine attempts from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes.

After missing the Mountaineers missed their first 3-point try of the second half, Huff ended the drought by sinking a trey with 14:40 left in the second half. The hoop got West Virginia within nine.

–Field Level Media