WVU beats No. 7 KU on game-winning free throw in ultimate seconds of league opener – KUsports

West Virginia was lacking two of its prime three scorers attributable to damage and didn’t make it to Lawrence till the wee hours of the morning, however you wouldn’t have recognized it from the way in which the Mountaineers opened Tuesday afternoon’s recreation at Kansas.
Down Tucker DeVries and Amani Hansberry, WVU wanted its peripheral gamers to step up, and the likes of Eduardo Andre and Sencire Harris punished the Jayhawks repeatedly from the opening whistle. In the meantime, the Mountaineers held a 22-12 rebounding benefit and restricted KU to 29.2% taking pictures within the first half, constructing a commanding 13-point lead by halftime.
Aided by key minutes off the bench from backup heart Flory Bidunga and a heroic effort from Zeke Mayo, KU rallied to even the rating at 61-61. However Bidunga bought switched onto high-scoring guard Javon Small on the Mountaineers’ ultimate possession, and Small drew a taking pictures foul with 1.8 seconds left.
Small missed the primary free throw however made the second, and as a substitute of finishing a memorable rally, the seventh-ranked Jayhawks entered uncharted territory by dropping their first convention opener in 34 seasons, dropping a 62-61 consequence to WVU at Allen Fieldhouse.
“It sucks,” KU coach Invoice Self stated. “We put ourselves in a scenario the place there’s clearly much less margin for error if the aim is to win the league and it at all times is … It’s a protracted grind, guys, however clearly we didn’t do ourselves any favors as we speak.”
The Mountaineers solely bought 13 factors from their ordinary main scorer Small, however Andre amassed a season-best 15 — largely on dunks and wide-open layups as KU struggled in opposition to ball screens — and Jonathan Powell added 11.
“It was a troublesome journey day, however like I’ve informed the fellows, accidents, flight delays, these aren’t issues you possibly can management, so determine it out,” WVU coach Darian DeVries stated. “Discover a strategy to put that stuff behind you and concentrate on what we are able to management. I assumed they did a great job of that. However we have to get some sleep tonight.”
Mayo led all scorers with 27 factors, together with a key 3 late and a three-point play that tied the sport at 61 earlier than Small drew the decisive foul.
“We had a terrific week of apply,” Mayo stated. “It’s simply powerful, after they get out to a lead like that, to come back again, particularly in such a aggressive league.”
The Jayhawks opened the sport as chilly as may be, lacking their first 4 pictures and giving up a 3-pointer to Powell earlier than Self known as timeout.
KU additionally conceded three early buckets to Andre earlier than, after greater than 5 scoreless minutes, Mayo hit a contested 3-pointer to make it 9-3. That bucket did little to stem the tide and WVU quickly went up double digits as KU opened the sport 3-for-16 from the sector.
Rylan Griffen hit a straight-on 3 that made it 17-10, just for the Jayhawks to surrender a nook 3 to former KU guard Joe Yesufu to kick off an 8-0 run for the Mountaineers.
“We bought to come back able to play,” heart Hunter Dickinson stated. “It’s disappointing that we began off so unhealthy and put ourselves able the place we needed to nearly play good to attempt to come again and win.”
After going behind by 15 factors, KU confirmed indicators of life, largely on account of elevated aggression by Mayo, who completed the primary half with 9 factors. However Harris made a trio of powerful floaters within the ultimate minutes of the half and Mayo launched his ultimate nook 3 lengthy after the buzzer, permitting WVU to enter the break up 33-20.
Self described the exhibiting as “as depressing (an) offensive crew as I’ve seen play on this constructing in 22 years. That was horrid. Second half was a bit higher, however time and rating dictated why we performed higher as a result of while you’re behind and time’s working out you are usually extra aggressive. We had been by no means aggressive within the first half in any respect.”
The 9 Jayhawks apart from Mayo who performed within the first half mixed to shoot 5-for-20 from the sector.
Powell sank a deep 3 early within the second half to offer WVU its largest lead of the day, after which Andre added a layup moments later to match his season excessive with 14 factors.
After a protracted, dormant interval, the Jayhawks began to play their finest protection of the day — aided by, of all issues, on-ball perimeter protection from Bidunga — and inched nearer and nearer, chopping the Mountaineers’ benefit to 48-38 with a collection of free throws, then to 50-42 on a putback by Bidunga earlier than WVU known as timeout.
“You don’t are available right here and simply stroll out like that,” DeVries stated. “They’re going to go down swinging.”
Bidunga laid it in once more after the stoppage, and Mayo added his seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth free throws to chop the deficit to 2 factors.
That was the place KU’s comeback stalled, as KJ Tenner hit a floater over Bidunga, earlier than David Coit missed a 3 and Yesufu hit one from the correct wing.
Down 57-53 with 2:22 to go, KU misplaced possession on an over-and-back name after Mayo leapt to attempt to save a excessive go by Bidunga from crossing midcourt (Self stated an official informed him he tousled the decision), and Small hit a deep soar shot to make it a six-point margin. Mayo drained a stepback 3 with 1:26 to go. He missed his subsequent try from deep, however a putback by Dickinson stored KU in competition.
On the ultimate play, after Small’s go-ahead free throw, KJ Adams was unable to get off a shot in time by contact from WVU as soon as he fielded a full-court go from Dickinson. Self stated he thought Adams may need drawn a foul if the sequence had taken place earlier within the recreation.
“There was loads of performs main as much as it that we may have modified the end result of,” Dickinson stated, “and so there shall be loads of hypothesis on the final play, however we put ourselves in that place with a horrible first half after which persevering with early within the second half.”
And so the Jayhawks entered the brand new 12 months and the convention slate on a poor notice: “I doubt there’ll be folks at 11:59 doing any countdowns tonight,” Self stated. “We’re down. We’ll bounce again, however we’re down.”
For the second 12 months in a row, KU (9-3, 0-1 Large 12) will play its first street league recreation in Orlando, Florida, because the Jayhawks tackle UCF on Sunday at 3 p.m. Central Time.
“We’ll get higher, however the actuality of it’s, we’re not the crew that I feel loads of us thought we might be on January 1,” Self stated. “We bought a great crew, however we are able to clearly be had and as we speak we had been, by a crew that was higher than us.”
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Henry is the sports activities editor on the Lawrence Journal-World and KUsports.com, and serves because the KU beat author whereas managing day-to-day sports activities protection. He beforehand labored as a sports activities reporter at The Bakersfield Californian and is a graduate of Washington College in St. Louis (B.A., Linguistics) and Arizona State College (M.A., Sports activities Journalism). Although a local of Los Angeles, he has steadily been informed he doesn’t give off “California vibes,” no matter which means.

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