No. 18 West Virginia edges Texas A&M 81-77 (Jan 28, 2017)
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) No. 18 West Virginia looked great at times. It also provided lots of teaching material for coach Bob Huggins.
Jevon Carter had 19 points and nine rebounds, and the Mountaineers edged Texas A&M 81-77 on Saturday in the Big 12-SEC Challenge.
West Virginia opened a 51-31 lead on Daxter Miles Jr.'s 3-pointer early in the second half. But the Mountaineers needed two free throws by Esa Ahmad with 4.4 seconds left to finish off the Aggies.
''I've seen too many leads disappear,'' Huggins said. ''We came out the second half and didn't play with any intensity. You let people get confidence. Those are high-level players. Everybody we play in Big 5 conferences has high-level players and you can't let them get started.''
Ahmad went 6 for 12 at the line and finished with 14 points. Miles scored 10 points for West Virginia (17-4), which was coming off an 85-69 win against No. 2 Kansas on Tuesday.
Carter made four 3-pointers and also had two steals in 34 minutes.
''Jevon Carter shows you what a really good point guard can do and he set the tone,'' Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy said.
Admon Gilder scored 24 points for the Aggies (11-9), and Tyler Davis had 19 points and 18 rebounds. JC Hampton went 5 for 6 from 3-point range and finished with 21 points.
It was Davis' fourth double-double of the season. His 18 rebounds were the most for the Aggies since Andy Slocum also had 18 against Texas in 2004.
''He's a very good player,'' Carter said. ''He's got a big body and skilled down low. He's a wreck down there inside.''
WORTH NOTING
Texas A&M outrebounded West Virginia 41-36, but the Aggies finished with 23 turnovers.
''West Virginia is one of the best teams we've played all year,'' Kennedy said.
ONE MAN SHORT
Texas A&M played without sophomore forward DJ Hogg for the second consecutive game due to a foot injury. Hogg, who averages 13.1 points and 3.7 rebounds, is day to day.
SO CLOSE
Carter fell just short of a double-double for the second straight game. He had nine points and nine rebounds against the Jayhawks.
Carter has two double-doubles this season, coming against Oklahoma and Kansas State.
POLL IMPICATIONS
Despite its lackluster performance against Texas A&M, West Virginia should expect to move up several spots in the AP poll after its win over Kansas.
UP NEXT
Texas A&M hosts Vanderbilt on Tuesday.
West Virginia plays at Iowa State on Tuesday.
