Coleman, Osetkowski Lead Texas Past West Virginia
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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Matt Coleman scored 17 points, Dylan Osetkowski had 14, and both made critical plays down the stretch, helping Texas defeat West Virginia 61-54 Saturday night.
Coleman, with the shot clock about to expire, hit a step-back 3-pointer from the right corner to give Texas a 59-54 lead with 1:03 left.
Then Osetkowski blocked a shot inside by Wesley Harris.
Eli Mitrou-Long added 10 points for Texas (10-4, 2-0 Big 12).
Derek Culver led West Virginia (8-6, 0-2) with 17 points. James Bolden scored all 13 of his points in the second half.
Texas took an eight-point lead early in the second half with a 3-point basket by Osetkowski.
But before the Longhorns could get any ideas about pulling away, Bolden scored six straight for West Virginia.
Osetkowski gave Texas another eight-point edge with a 3-point basket with 8:47 left, and Bolden responded again, this time with five points.
The Mountaineers played their fifth straight game without injured Sagaba Konate, their top rebounder, shot-blocker and co-leader in scoring. He has a knee injury.
BIG PICTURE
West Virginia: Coach Bob Huggins is so disillusioned with what he considers the Mountaineers' lack of commitment to improvement that he elected to start walk-on Taevon Horton, who had played a total of seven minutes in three games before Saturday. Huggins cited Horton as the first player to arrive for the first practice after West Virginia lost to Texas Tech on Wednesday in Morgantown. It was a symbolic gesture, though. Horton played just two minutes. Huggins also suspended reserve guard Brandon Knapper for the game.
Texas: The Longhorns caught some breaks in their first two Big 12 games. They won their opener 67-47 at Kansas State, which was missing injured starters Dean Wade and Kamau Stokes. Then West Virginia arrived in Austin without Konate, and Huggins announced that Knapper was suspended. Texas was missing backup center Jericho Sims, a former starter who sustained an injured right ankle in practice on Friday, but his playing time was reduced recently.
UP NEXT
West Virginia is at Kansas State on Wednesday. West Virginia won both games against Kansas State last season.
Texas is at Oklahoma State on Tuesday. The Longhorns and Cowboys split two games last season, each winning at home by the same score, 65-64.
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