WVU Edges Texas In Top 25 Showdown

AUSTIN, Texas — Bob Huggins didn’t divulge exactly how he lit into his West Virginia team at halftime when it trailed Texas by 10 points. The message registered. Sean McNeil and No. 13 West Virginia erased a 19-point deficit in the second half, then withstood a flurry of last-second misses to hold off No. 12 Texas 84-82 on Saturday. McNeil played only two minutes in the first half after picking up two fouls, and scored all 16 of his points after the break. He also committed two turnovers in the final 11 seconds, giving Texas a chance. With Texas down by two, the Longhorns’ Matt Coleman III missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw situation with eight seconds left. The Longhorns got the ball back, but Andrew Jones’ 3-point attempt rimmed out with four seconds left — he had made a 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds left to beat West Virginia 72-70 on Jan. 9. Texas had one last try, with three-tenths of a second left, on an inbounds pass after Jones missed. But Jericho Sims missed inside after taking a lob pass from Coleman. Miles McBride scored 17 for West Virginia (15-6, 8-4 Big 12), which was down 62-43 early in the second half. Taz Sherman, Emmitt Matthews Jr. and Derek Culver scored 14 apiece.