Bob Huggins is glad he has a good bench for when his starters get in foul trouble or are having a tough game.
“That’s the good thing about this team, you know?” Huggins said. “Devin [Williams] gets in foul trouble and Elijah [Macon] answers the bell. [Jevon Carter] gets in foul trouble, Tarik [Phillip] plays well. Jaysean [Paige] hadn’t been playing very well, and he played pretty well.”
Phillip scored West Virginia’s final eight points and the sixth-ranked Mountaineers (16-3, 5-2) ended the game on a 10-2 run to rally for an 80-76 Big 12 Conference victory Saturday at Texas Tech, snapping a two-game losing streak.
“That shows you how resilient we can be,” Phillip said. “We knew this was a must-win for us. We had to leave everything on the floor.”
The Red Raiders (12-6, 2-5) were up, 76-72, with 1:10 remaining when Phillip hit a 3, got a layup and a free throw off a steal, and got the Mountaineers’ final points on a dunk just before the buzzer.
Phillip finished with 20 points, Paige scored 22 and Jonathan Holton added 13 to lead the Mountaineers.
Zach Smith scored a career-high 18 points and Toddrick Gotcher added 12 for Texas Tech.
“They did what they had to do to win the game,” Texas Tech coach Tubby Smith said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t. It’s a tough loss for us. Just a hard-fought game. I thought our kids played hard.”
There were 12 lead changes, the last coming in the final minute, and the Red Raiders led for most of the second half until Phillip took over.
“That’s the problem with this league, there’s too many good players on every team and there’s too many good coaches,” Huggins said. “You can’t outsmart anybody. The guys that make shots and the teams that play the best that day, win.”
More men
Robert Morris 65, Bryant 54: Kavon Stewart scored 18 points, Elijah Minnie added 13, 12 rebounds and 6 blocks, and the Colonials (6-15, 4-4 Northeast Conference) never trailed in a win against the host Bulldogs (7-14, 4-4).
Women
Duquesne 74, St. Bonaventure 62: April Robinson had 20 points to help the Dukes (17-2, 5-1 Atlantic 10) snap a 16-game win streak for the Bonnies (17-3, 6-1) with a victory at Palumbo Center.
Bryant 71, Robert Morris 65: Anna Niki Stamolamprou scored 17 points, but the Colonials (11-7, 5-2 NEC) fell at the Bulldogs (10-8, 7-0).
Penn State 65, Illinois 56: Teniya Paige’s 27 points led the visiting Nittany Lions (8-11, 3-5 Big Ten) past the Illini (8-11, 1-7).
First Published: January 24, 2016, 5:00 a.m.
