Ft. Worth, TX - The West Virginia Mountaineers (14-13, 3-11) dropped its fourth straight game Monday night 77-67 to the TCU Horned Frogs (17-8, 6-7). West Virginia shot 54.8% in the first half and West Virginia guard Taz Sherman scored 17 first half points but trailed by one at the break. Then, the Mountaineers shot just 34.6% in the second half as the Horned Frogs pulled away with the 10-point win.
TCU grabbed the early 6-2 edge on three consecutive layups before West Virginia forward Isaiah Cottrell buried a three from the right wing to cut the deficit to one.
West Virginia got out to its best offensive performance to the season shooting 11-13 from the field, including 3-4 from three-point range, getting most it the production from forward Jalen Bridges, scoring seven apiece. However, the Horned Frogs kept pace and was holding on to a one-point advantage 28-27, with four TCU second chance points being the difference.
The Horned Frogs constructed an 11-2 run behind six points from team-leading scorer Mike Miles Jr as TCU pulled ahead 36-29. A Chuck O'Bannon three-pointer gave the Horned Frogs an 11-point lead with 4:24 remaining in the half until Taz Sherman hit three consecutive three to end the half to get the Mountaineers back within one 43-42. The final three gave Sherman 17 first half points, and with that, he hit 1,000 career points.
TCU outscored West Virginia 9-2 in the opening three minutes of the second half before Isaiah Cottrell dunked the ball to close the gap back to six, 56-46.
The pace of the game slowed from the first half. West Virginia scored just nine points in the first 10 minutes of second half action, shooting a mere 4-13 from the field. However, five TCU turnovers kept the Mountaineers within striking distance, and a driving layup by Seth Wilson cut the deficit to five with 7:22 to play.
West Virginia's shooting remained cold and as a result, TCU built a 13-point lead with 3:50 to play. The Mountaineers shot just 34.6 in the second half and was outrebounded 42-24 for the game as TCU keeps its NCAA tournament hopes alive with the 77-67 win.
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