No. 10 West Virginia 2nd In Big 12 With Win At No. 19 Baylor
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WACO (AP) — Jaysean Paige had 14 points and No. 10 West Virginia wrapped up second place in the Big 12 Conference with a 69-58 victory at No. 19 Baylor on Saturday.
Coach Bob Huggins' Mountaineers (24-7, 13-5 Big 12) go into the conference tournament with a four-game winning streak. The 13 Big 12 wins are their most in their four seasons in the league.
Tarik Phillip added 11 points and Daxter Miles Jr. had 10 for West Virginia, which led for 28 1-2 minutes after not scoring until more than 5 minutes into the game.
Taurean Prince, one of five Baylor seniors in their last home game, had 19 points and 10 rebounds.
The Bears (21-10, 10-8) finished 4-5 at home in the Big 12. They are the only one of the league's top seven teams finishing with a losing record in conference home games, while matching No. 1 and league champion Kansas for a 6-3 road mark.
West Virginia had a much better start to the second half, extending their 32-27 halftime lead to double figures with a 9-2 run. It was 41-29 after Paige's 3-pointer 4:22 after the break.
When the Bears got back within five, after a stretch when Price had three consecutive 3-pointers in just over 2 minutes and Baylor made five in a row overall from behind the arc, they never got closer.
Jevon Carter's layup with 5 minutes left put WVU up 57-50, and started a game-clinching 7-1 run during which Baylor missed two shots and was 1 of 4 on free throws.
Both teams got off to horrendous starts, combining to go 0-for-9 shooting with four turnovers before Ishmail Wainright passed inside to Rico Gathers to give Baylor a 2-0 lead 3:46 into the game.
Baylor missed its first five shots, as did the Mountaineers until Nathan Adrian's tip-in that came 5:03 into the game and started an 8-0 run. The Bears didn't go ahead again until Prince made a fadeaway short jumper while being fouled and added the free throw for a 16-14 lead with 6:22 left in the first half.
TIP-INS
West Virginia: Carter had eight points and eight assists without a turnover. ... Devin Williams struggled shooting, going 1-of-9 from the field, but had 11 rebounds to go with his six points.
Baylor: Rico Gathers fouled out with 1:52 left, with only five points and three rebounds in his final home game. The senior did have another buzzer-beating shot though, with a long basket with his foot on the 3-point line to beat the shot clock. In the Bears' previous home game vs. Baylor, the 6-foot-8 forward's only career 3-pointer came at the buzzer ending the first half. ... The Bears finished 14 of 24 on free throws.
UP NEXT
West Virginia: Faces Texas Tech or TCU in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament Thursday.
Baylor: Plays in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament Thursday.
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