Road woes continue as Kansas falls to Mountaineers

Attempting to hold on to first place in the Big 12 conference, the Kansas Jayhawks traveled to Morgantown, West Virginia to go toe to toe with the Mountaineers. West Virginia would however pull off a last-second bucket to steal a 65-64 victory, giving the Mountaineers their first conference win of the season.

The No. 7 Jayhawks have historically struggled in Morgantown since West Virginia joined the Big 12 in 2013 and Saturday’s game was no different.

Kansas held a late lead over the Mountaineers, leading 64-58 with 2:35 left in the game. Wesley Harris hit a three-pointer to bring the game within three and a response was not to be after sophomore guard Marcus Garrett missed a jumper.

West Virginia responded with a layup by Derek Culver with 1:26. Coach Bill Self called a 30 second timeout and the Jayhawks needed a response but once again, Garrett would miss a shot to allow the Mountaineers the chance to take a lead, however Garrett immediately responded by stealing the ball.

On the ensuing possession, senior guard LaGerald Vick failed to capitalize on a three-point shot which allowed Jermaine Haley of the Mountaineers to take the ball up the court and hit a layup with seven seconds left in regulation.

Self had the opportunity to use a timeout but would not do so as he put his trust into his players. Vick took the ball up the court and tried to hit a well-contested step-back three, but it clanked off the rim.

Immediately however, junior forward Dedric Lawson snagged an offensive board and tried to put the ball right back in but failed to do so.

The Mountaineers snagged the defensive board and seconds later fans were already storming the court as West Virginia had won to game after holding the Jayhawks scoreless for the final 2:35 of the game.

The two teams went back and forth all-throughout the first half with neither squad able to get out to a big lead. Both teams went into halftime tied at 23, which is the fewest amount of points Kansas has scored in a half this season.

Through the half, no Jayhawk was able to reach double digit points as the team shot a poor 37% from the field in the half.

The second half was much of the same, back and forth scoring from both teams as the biggest lead for Kansas was only 5, up until the 2:35 mark of the half.

West Virginia has played rather poorly all season, but the tough defense and poor first-half shooting from the Jayhawks allowed West Virginia to steal one in Morgantown.

Garrett and Lawson led all scorers, each with 15 points followed by 13 from Vick. For the Mountaineers, the leading scorer was Jermaine Haley with 13 as he went a perfect 5-5 from the field.

As a team, Kansas turned the ball over 18 times, seven of which came from freshman point guard Devon Dotson. The Jayhawks were only able to snag seven steals as a unit, six coming from the defensive instincts of Garrett.

Kansas was unable to get past its first half woes and continues to struggle on the road as it heads deeper into conference play. The Jayhawks also dropped into a tie for second place in the Big 12 and although it is still early, things are looking like this may be the season the Jayhawks lose their reign in the Big 12.

Kansas will return to action on Monday, Jan. 21st when it attempts to avenge its loss to Iowa State. The Cyclones will travel to Lawrence, Kansas to tipoff with the Jayhawks at 8 P.M.