By: Shanna Rose
KANSAS CITY– Elijah Malone scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half as No. 16 seed Colorado overcame a 13-point deficit and upset eighth-seeded West Virginia 67-60 in a Big 12 Tournament second-round game at T-Mobile Center on Wednesday afternoon.
The Mountaineers (19-13) were up 46-37 with under 10 minutes to go when they turned it over on seven straight possessions. The Buffaloes (14-19) used the opportunity and went on a 15-0 run to take a 52-46 lead with 5:15 left.
“We’re certainly disappointed with the loss,” WVU head coach Darian DeVries said.
WVU continued to fight and when Amani Hansberry hit a pair of free throws, the Mountaineers pulled within 56-53 with 2:13 left. Malone scored again in the paint and R.J. Smith drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key, sealing the win for Colorado.
“I thought they went to a little more floppy action in the second half, and were able to throw it inside,” DeVries said. “They’ve been pretty good all year when you bring a double team, kicking it out for open 3s. A little bit of foul trouble probably played a part in it, and we weren’t quite as aggressive defensively maybe as we needed to be.”
Smith scored 13 points including a couple of crucial baskets late in the game. Andrej Jakimovski added 11 for the Buffaloes.
Javon Small led WVU with 23 points. He finished seven of 15 from the floor, including four of 11 from beyond the arc, and was five of six from the charity stripe.
Toby Okani contributed 11 points for WVU.
The Mountaineers will now wait until Sunday to see where they will play in the NCAA Tournament.
“The biggest thing for us is we’re going to have another opportunity to play,” DeVries said. “We’re going to have a chance to go back, regroup, and reset things and focus on some of the things we need to clean up and come back and get our minds right”
Photo Credit: WVU Athletics
