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Taz Sherman, Derek Culver Lead No. 10 West Virginia Past TCU, 74-66

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(Gregg Ellman/TCU Athletics)

West Virginia just about led buzzer to buzzer as the No. 10 Mountaineers won their sixth Big 12 road game, 74-66, against the TCU Horned Frogs Tuesday evening.

It was West Virginia’s (16-6, 9-4 Big 12) sixth-straight Big 12 road win as senior Taz Sherman (23 points) and junior Derek Culver (18 points) led the Mountaineers past the young Horned Frogs (11-10, 4-8). TCU jumped out to a 9-5 lead three minutes into the game, but West Virginia took an 11-10 lead with 15 minutes left in the first half and never looked back.

Culver carried WVU on his back in the first half, scoring 15 of WVU’s 37 points before halftime and grabbing eight rebounds. The Mountaineers shot just 3 of 12 in the first half from 3-point range with Sherman (eight points) and freshman Jalen Bridges (seven points) as the only Mountaineers to hit from deep. TCU similarly shot poor from range, finishing 2 of 11 from 3 in the first half, trailing WVU 37-31 at the break.

After halftime, it was Sherman who took over scoring for the Mountaineers. The senior guard scored 15 points in the second half on 3 of 8 shooting. WVU built a lead as large as 16 in the second half, but TCU hit enough shots to hang around for much of the game. The Horned Frogs were led by junior guard RJ Nembhard’s 17 points and nine assists. Junior center Kevin Samuel did an admirable job matched up against Culver, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

For WVU, Sherman led all scorers with 23 points, shooting 6 of 15 from the floor and 8 of 9 from the free-throw line. Culver finished with his Big 12-leading 11th double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds. The Mountaineers led for more than 37 minutes in the game and out-rebounded TCU 38 to 30, including a 13 to 3 edge on offensive rebounds.

After originally being scheduled to travel to Waco, Texas to play Baylor on Thursday, West Virginia will now be able to return home to Morgantown following that game’s cancelation earlier today. The Mountaineers will be back in action at home on Saturday against Kansas State.

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