Mountaineers Road Struggles Continue, Lose 67-60 To TCU

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Kevin Samuel scored six of his 19 points in overtime and TCU extended No. 17 West Virginia's Big 12 road woes with a 67-60 victory over the Mountaineers on Saturday.

The Horned Frogs (15-12, 6-8 Big 12) thought they had won for just the second time in nine games in regulation when Desmond Bane sent the crowd into a frenzy on a driving layup with 0.9 seconds left. But the senior guard was called for pushing off as he went up for the shot.

Jaire Grayer broke the 55-all tie with his only 3-pointer to start overtime, and Samuel hit two buckets and two free throws as the Mountaineers lost their fifth straight road conference game after beating TCU by 32 at home.

Derek Culver had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Taz Sherman scored 16 points for West Virginia (19-8, 7-7). Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins stayed tied with Dean Smith on the all-time coaching victories list with 879.

Samuel made all seven of his shots and had eight rebounds, RJ Nembhard scored 16 points and Bane finished with eight points and 10 assists in TCU's second home victory over a ranked team. The Horned Frogs beat then-No. 17 Texas Tech in January.

West Virginia finished 2 of 17 from 3-point range, including an air ball on an open look for Sean McNeil with the Mountaineers down by three in overtime. McNeil also missed a desperation heave from past half court when West Virginia managed to get off a shot after the call against Bane.

The Mountaineers missed four straight free throws late before Oscar Tshiebwe made the second of two for a 55-all tie with 1:03 to go. Miles McBride couldn't finish off a possible three-point play, and Culver missed two free throws.

Culver scored six points and Sherman had the last five on a 15-1 run that put West Virginia up 25-15 in the first half.

TCU later answered with a 19-2 run that carried over halftime, turning a 31-21 deficit into a 40-33 lead when Nembhard hit a 3-pointer.

The Horned Frogs scored the final eight points of the first half, starting with a 3-pointer from guard Francisco Farabello.

The only points for the freshman from Argentina came moments before he ended up on the floor holding his head following a scramble for a loose ball. Farabello had to be helped to the locker room and was ruled out with a concussion.

BIG PICTURE

West Virginia: Tshiebwe, the freshman leading West Virginia in scoring, was held to just one point. The Big 12′s second-leading rebounder wasn't as much of a factor inside either, finishing with five boards.

TCU: The slide toward the bottom of the standings has been steady since the Horned Frogs started 3-0 in the Big 12 after getting voted last by league coaches in a preseason poll. But this is quite a boost coming off seven losses in eight games.

UP NEXT

West Virginia: At Texas on Monday.

TCU: At Iowa State on Tuesday.

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