Feb 24, 2018; Morgantown, WV, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard Lindell Wigginton (5) drives against West Virginia Mountaineers guard Daxter Miles Jr. (4) during the first half at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Winning on the road in Morgantown is one of the toughest tasks in the Big 12 — especially when you have only seven available players. Iowa State hung tough for most of the first half on Saturday before falling 85-70 to No. 21 West Virginia.
The Cyclones, who were without Donovan Jackson as he was in Milwaukee attending his father’s funeral, were within nine points of the Mountaineers at the halftime break and kept the game within a possession or two for the majority of the game’s first 20 minutes.
West Virginia was able to pull away behind a 46-40 second half and 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting from senior leader Jevon Carter. Like the first game between the two teams, Lindell Wigginton looked like the best player on the court at times scoring 29 points on 10-of-23 shooting from the field and 4-of-10 from 3-point range.
Freshman Terrence Lewis was the only other Cyclone to score in double-figures with 12 points, including three 3-pointers. Zoran Talley and Jeff Beverly both finished the game with nine points while Cameron Lard added eight points and 10 rebounds.
The Cyclones shot 42 percent from the field and turned the ball over only eight times against the West Virginia press, but still took 11 fewer shots than the home team due in large part to allowing 16 offensive rebounds. The Mountaineers out-scored Iowa State 17-7 in second-chance points.
Iowa State drops to 13-15 overall and 4-12 in Big 12 play with two games left in the regular season. The Cyclones will be back in action on Tuesday when Oklahoma State visits Hilton Coliseum for senior night.
