WVU Basketball Pulls Off Massive Upset of No. 3 Gonzaga

Despite being massive underdogs in its first game at the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, WVU basketball took down No. 3 Gonzaga in a thrilling game in the Bahamas.

The Mountaineers (4-1) came back from a 10-point second-half deficit to battle all the way to the final second against Gonzaga (5-1), coming away with an 86-78 overtime victory.

First big statement win of the DeVries ear at WVU. pic.twitter.com/ZsI6hT0GUs

— West Virginia Sports Now (@WVSportsNow) November 27, 2024

Led by Javon Small, Tucker DeVries and Amani Hansberry, the Mountaineers played what was easily their best game of the season. Small led all scorers with 31 points while DeVries scored 16 and Hansberry had a career-high 19.   

WVU showed early on that it would not be a repeat of the blowout loss to Pitt earlier this month. A 9-0 run by the Panthers early in that game unraveled the Mountaineers and the game became non-competitive.

On Wednesday, WVU faced a similar situation as Gonzaga went on a 10-0 run to build a 25-16 lead after 10 minutes of play. The Mountaineers responded right away, however. Small made it to the free-throw line and Tucker DeVries scored a fastbreak dunk to end the Zags’ run. Small then drew a foul on a three-pointer, making all three foul shots, and made a three-pointer to cut the lead back down to just three, 29-26.

Even though West Virginia’s offense went through a dry spell at the end of the first half, making just two field goals over the final nine minutes, the defense was disruptive enough to keep Gonzaga’s lead to single digits.

Watch: Tucker DeVries Gets Breakaway Slam Vs. Gonzaga

Despite shooting just 30% in the first half, WVU only trailed 39-31 at halftime.

There was another inflection point early in the second half. Gonzaga made a couple of baskets in the first 90 seconds to build its first double-digit lead, 43-33. After that, however, the Mountaineers caught fire on both ends of the floor, embarking on a 12-0 scoring run.

Hansberry tied the game at 43-43 with his third three-pointer of the game before Small capped the run off with a layup that put WVU ahead 45-43.

When it was all said and done, WVU outscored Gonzaga 17-2 over a five-minute span that put the Mountaineers up 50-45.

After trailing for over seven minutes, Gonzaga finally retook the lead on a layup by Braden Huff that was part of an 8-0 scoring run.

The teams traded baskets, and the lead, until back-to-back makes gave Gonzaga a 67-64 lead with 1:44 to play. Small made it to the free-throw line to cut the lead to one.

Gonzaga went up 71-66 after two free throws with 25 seconds left, but a long DeVries three-pointer cut it back to two points, 71-69.

DeVries then stole the ball away with less than six seconds left and tied the game with a pair of makes at the foul line to send the game into overtime.

West Virginia controlled the entire overtime period, outscoring Gonzaga 15-7. A 7-1 run put WVU up 84-76 with just 26 seconds to play as the Mountaineers held on for victory.