Erik Stevenson scored 27 points as West Virginia knocked off No. 11 Kansas State 89-81 in Morgantown, W.Va., on Saturday in Big 12 play.
Stevenson was one of three Mountaineers with at least 20 points. They also got a career high 23 points from Kedrian Johnson and 20 from Emmitt Matthews Jr. Tre Mitchell added 14 for West Virginia.
The Mountaineers (18-13, 7-11 Big 12) finished the conference season 7-6 after losing their first five Big 12 games. They will be either the No. 7 or No. 8 seed in next week’s Big 12 Championship in Kansas City, Mo.
The Wildcats (23-8, 11-7) were led by Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell with 24 points apiece. All of Nowell’s points came in the second half. Cam Carter had 13.
The Wildcats were playing without Desi Sills, who was inserted into the starting lineup at the beginning of the team’s four-game winning streak. Sills was attending the funeral of a family member. Kansas State will be the No. 2 or No. 3 seed next week in Kansas City.
West Virginia never trailed in the second half. They opened up a 10-point lead on Stevenson’s 3-pointer with 8:49 left and the Wildcats never caught up. The Mountaineers stretched the lead to as many as 15 points.
The first half was a back-and-forth contest. Kansas State scored the first eight points of the game, but the Mountaineers answered with a 14-5 run to take the lead. The lead didn’t last long as K-State ripped off 11 straight to grab a 10-point lead.
It took a little while, but West Virginia made up the entire deficit and went to the locker room with a 39-37 halftime lead. Matthews and Kedrian Johnson did most of the scoring for the Mountaineers. Matthews scored 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Kedrian Johnson added 11 points.
Keyontae Johnson scored almost half of K-State’s points, pouring in 16. He hit 7 of 14 field goals, including 2 of 5 from 3-point range. Nowell did not score in the first half, but he dished out seven first-half assists and finished with eight.
Both teams committed 12 first-half turnovers. Kansas State finished with 20 while the Mountaineers had 16.
–Field Level Media
