West Virginia Moves Past Texas Tech in Round 1 of the Big 12 Conference Championship

Texas Tech outscored the Mountaineers 9-2 to begin the game following a three from Pop Isaacs but a three from WVU forward Tre Mitchell and a contested lay-in by Emmitt Mathews Jr. cut the deficit to two at the 14:41 mark of the first half. 

West Virginia guard Erik Stevenson exited the game early but upon re-entry, he buried consecutive threes to tie the game at 17, nearing the midway point of the first half. 

The game was tied at 24 until Stevenson hit consecutive jumpers and a perfect 3-3 from the foul line for his own 7-0 run to put the Mountaineers up seven with 5:01 remaining in the half. 

West Virginia guard Kedrian Johnson jumped in front of the pass from Elijah Fisher, went the distance and drew the foul for the three-point play to give the Mountaineers an 11-point advantage.

Johnson hit a three to give West Virginia its largest first half lead of 13 with 1:45 left in the half. 

The Mountaineers took a 43-35 lead into halftime. Erik Stevenson led all scorers with 13 points and Kedrian Johnson had 10.

Emmitt Matthews Jr. opened the second half with four quick points and threes from Kedrian Johnson and forward Tre Mitchell extended the Mountaineers lead to 14 and forced a Texas Tech timeout at the 16:38 mark of the first half. 

Mitchell buried his second three of the half and guard Joe Toussaint became the fourth Mountaineer to bury a three on the night for a 15-point advantage, 61-46, with 11:45 left to play in the game. 

West Virginia held Texas Tech scoreless for over six minutes and climbed to a 21-point lead with 6:49 remaining in the game. However, Kevin Obanor ended the drought with a contested three in the corner which sparked a 12-3 run, capped off with a straightaway three by Isaacs to cut the deficit to 12 at the 2:51 mark. 

Mitchell answered on the ensuing possession as the Mountaineers maintained their double-digit advantage and coasted to a 78-62 victory.

West Virginia will meet No. 3 Kansas in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship Thursday afternoon with tipoff set for approximately 2:00 and will broadcast on ESPN.

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