Javon Small hit the go-ahead free throw with 1.8 seconds remaining, and short-handed West Virginia held on after blowing an 18-point second-half lead to beat seventh-ranked Kansas 62-61 in an intense Big 12 opener for both teams Tuesday.
Eduardo Andre had 15 points and Small finished with 13 for the Mountaineers (10-2, 1-0), who built a 38-20 lead despite missing two of their three leading scorers, only to watch Kansas (9-3, 0-1) use a 15-2 run to get back in the game.
Zeke Mayo, who led the Jayhawks with 27 points, converted a three-point play to tie the game 61-all with 16 seconds left. Small was fouled by Kansas freshman Flory Bidunga at the other end and made the second of two free throws, and KJ Adams missed a contested shot as time expired that would have sent the game to overtime.
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It was the first conference-opening loss for Kansas since Jan. 8, 1991, and the first win for the Mountaineers in 12 tries in Allen Fieldhouse. They had lost six of their last seven games to the Jayhawks.
But making it all the more impressive was the fact that second-leading scorer Tucker DeVries and third-leading scorer Amani Hansberry were out with injuries, and the Mountaineers had all sort of trouble just getting to the game.
Their flight on Monday afternoon had mechanical problems, forcing the charter company to bring in another plane. They were supposed to arrive in Kansas at about 5:30 p.m., but instead touched down in the early morning hours Tuesday.
Oh, then their hotel briefly lost power. So not much sleep was had for the Mountaineers ahead of their Big 12 opener.
“Travel day was tough,” West Virginia coach Darian DeVries acknowledged. “It was a tough travel day, but like I told the guys, injuries, flight delays — those are things that you can’t control. Figure it out. I thought the guys did a good job of that.”
Takeaways
The Mountaineers committed just six turnovers while never getting rattled by the noise in the Phog.
Kansas missed 15 of its first 19 shots, digging a hole that it spent the entire game trying to escape. Mayo gave the Jayhawks a chance, going 13-for-13 at the foul line, including several of them in the closing minutes.
Adams may have been fouled on his shot at the buzzer, but the officials simply shook their heads as he pleaded his case.
“When you lose, we all have a tendency to (complain) about officiating,” Kansas coach Bill Self said, “and when you win, sometimes you take it for granted that maybe you got a friendly whistle. The play at the end, it’s probably a foul early in the game, but I’m not sure there’s a lot of people who would call a foul on that last possession.”
The officials did admit to Self that they blew a back-court violation that gave West Virginia possession in the second half.
Key moment
Small struggled from the field, going 0-for-6 from the 3-point arc. But he also had 11 rebounds and six assists, and he made the free throw that mattered with 1.8 seconds to go.
Key stat
Kansas went 19-of-21 from the foul line. West Virginia only attempted six free throws, making four — including the winner.
Up next
West Virginia plays Oklahoma State on Saturday. Kansas heads to UCF on Sunday.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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