No. 6 Iowa State Closes Out WVU in Final Stretch, 71-64

No. 6 Iowa State closed out WVU in the final stretch of Saturday’s game, going on a 21-13 run in the final nine minutes. Cyclones won by a final score of 71-64 in Ames, Iowa.

West Virginia (9-18, 4-10 Big 12) fought and battled with Iowa State (21-6, 10-4 Big 12) all Saturday afternoon on the road. Down 10 points at the half, WVU came out and didn’t back down after the break, which has been a problem at times. West Virginia’s 23 turnovers were too much for them to overcome the Cyclones. Iowa State scored 29 points off of WVU’s mistakes.

WVU G Kobe Johnson connected on a three-pointer with nine minutes left in the game to give the Mountaineers their first lead since the first half. Iowa State retook the lead quickly and WVU went scoreless for six minutes after Johnson’s basket.

Johnson finished the game with 12 points, two rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes of play.

WVU started hot out of the gates, opening the game on an 11-2 run. Kerr Kriisa, RaeQuan Battle and Quinn Slazinski each hit a three to have a surprising start to the game. After the first media timeout, Iowa State was able to wake up and close the half on a 38-19 run.

Battle, who scored 70 points on 46% shooting his previous three games, struggled against ISU, scoring nine points on 2-of-11 shooting.

Despite the turnovers, West Virginia’s offense shot the ball well, shooting 48% from the field and 42% from three.

Heading into the game, Iowa State was 19-1 when leading at the half.

With the loss, West Virginia moves to 0-11 in games away from the WVU Coliseum this season. West Virginia is now 2-23 in their last 25 Big 12 road games, dating back to the 2021-22 season.

West Virginia won’t have much time to sulk about the loss as they turn right around and prepare for Kansas State on Monday. WVU and K-State will tipoff at 7 p.m. in Manhattan, Ks. on ESPN2.