McBride sparks West Virginia past Northern Iowa 60-55
CANCUN, Mexico (AP) — Miles McBride came off the bench to score 18 points and hand out five assists and West Virginia overcame a 15-point second-half deficit to beat Northern Iowa 60-55 in the Cancun Challenge on Tuesday night.
The Mountaineers (5-0) trailed 42-27 after Northern Iowa’s Isaiah Brown buried a 3-pointer with 10:31 remaining in the second half. Jermaine Haley’s jumper and a 3-pointer from Sean McNeil pulled West Virginia with 46-40 with 6:47 left to play.
McBride hit a 3-pointer and a jumper to give the Mountaineers a 51-50 lead, but Trae Berhow hit from distance to put UNI up 53-51 with 2:21 to go. Derek Culver sank two free throws to pull West Virginia even at 53-all. Justin Dahl’s jumper with 1:27 left gave UNI a 55-53 lead, but the Panthers would go scoreless from there.
Emmitt Matthews Jr. made 1 of 2 free throws and his tip-in off a missed free throw put the Mountaineers on top for good with 16 seconds left.
Haley finished with 10 points and seven rebounds, while Culver hauled in 15 rebounds.
Brown topped UNI (6-1) with 15 points and he added six boards.
BIG PICTURE
Northern Iowa: Starting forward Austin Phyfe and reserve center Justin Dahl both fouled out as the Panthers tasted defeat for the first time this season. UNI shot 40% from the floor but just 15% from beyond the arc (3 of 20). The Panthers were 8 of 12 at the foul line.
West Virginia: The Mountaineers remained unbeaten by getting to the foul line and sinking 16 of 25 attempts. They doubled their points total in the second half after trailing 23-20 at intermission.
UP NEXT
Northern Iowa: The Panthers take on South Carolina in the third-place game of the Riviera Divison.
West Virginia: The Mountaineers will play Wichita State on Wednesday in the championship game of the Riviera Division of the Cancun Challenge.
