West Virginia Starts 2018 With A Win Over Kansas State, Final Score 77-69

The West Virginia Mountaineers move to 13-1 (2-0 Big 12) after holding off the Kansas State Wildcats in Manhattan, Kansas.

Both teams started the game out slow, but a Maciej Bender jumper gave West Virginia 6-5 lead at the 16:00 minute mark. West Virginia would grow that lead over the five minutes that followed, and midway through the quarter held a 18-9 lead over the Wildcats.

The two teams traded blows for the rest of the half. Kansas State, in typical Big 12 fashion, would battle back to close the Mountaineers’ lead to five points as the half expired.

The back-and-forth action continued in the second half, but it wasn’t until there were 3:57 remaining that Kansas State began to really make a push for the lead. With the Mountaineers up 65-58, Kansas State’s Xavier Sneed hit a clutch three to put a little scare into West Virginia. Bob Huggins’ squad remained resilient, and were able to put the game away in the closing minutes.

Teddy Allen led the Mountaineers off the bench, once again, and finished with 22 points, three rebounds and two steals. Lamont West finished with 19 points and five rebounds. Although he only scored three points, Jevon Carter also finished with 10 assists and 8 rebounds. James Bolden added 10 points, five rebounds off the bench.

West Virginia returns to action on Saturday in Morgantown, where they’ll take on the Trae Young and the No. 7 Oklahoma Sooners. That game will tip off at 7:15PM and will be broadcast on ESPN2.