MORGANTOWN — If there ends up being a trilogy game between West Virginia and Texas Tech this season, the two teams would be hard-pressed to match what they’ve already accomplished.
Deuce McBride, who had spent the first half in foul trouble, only to come out and score 18 in the second half of the Mountaineers’ 82-71 victory on Tuesday against the Red Raiders, maybe summed it up best.
“We really banded together as a team tonight,” McBride said. “Things got really hard out there and we only got stronger. We came together and got the job done.”
Just 15 days after the two schools had played in an 88-87 classic that McBride won on a drive to the basket with six seconds remaining, more late-game drama followed.
This time, Texas Tech coach Chris Beard was at the center of it, having earned two technical fouls with 23.5 seconds remaining and being ejected from the game.
Why it happened revolves around a play just moments earlier where McBride hauled in an inbounds pass from Jordan McCabe and was immediately surrounded by Texas Tech defenders Kevin McCullar and Kyler Edwards.
The ball is poked loose in and McBride went immediately diving to the floor and may have called a timeout, not wanting to lose a possession with the Mountaineers leading, 77-71.
Instead, the referee blew his whistle and charged McCullar with a foul, sending McBride to the foul line for two shots.
It took a few minutes for McBride to get his foul shots, as Beard became incensed during a timeout and simulated McBride sitting on the floor asking for one.
“From a coaching standpoint, you’ve got to fight for your players,” Beard said after the game. “From my point of view, the West Virginia player was calling for a timeout on the floor. “I could see it and hear it where I was standing. It’s still a two-possession game at that point.
“If that call isn’t made, then we’ve got a chance to set up our press, and you still have a chance to play the game. That calls sends (an 83.5%) free-throw shooter to the line, and it’s going to separate the game to a three-possession game.”
Sean McNeil put the game completely out of reach by making three of the four technical-foul free throws and then McBride got his two shots and made both of them for the final score.
Before walking off the floor, Beard gave a fist-bump to WVU head coach Bob Huggins and then sprinted toward the locker room.
“Personally, I’ve got great respect for Chris,” Huggins said. “That’s all I need to really say, I think. I have great respect for him and the job that he’s done here and how hard his kids play, how much his kids care about him. That, to me, is what’s important.”
More than last-second shots and late-game technical fouls, the series this season has also included its share of heroics.
McBride has played a big role there, averaging 18.5 points just in the second half of action in both games.
McNeil stepped in for injured starter Taz Sherman on Tuesday and came away with a career-high 26 points, including a 3-pointer with barely a second left on the shot clock that gave WVU a 68-63 lead with 4:05 remaining.
He and Derek Culver kept the Mountaineers (14-5, 7-3 Big 12) afloat in the first half when McBride sat out with foul trouble.
In the second half, it was McBride and McNeil who came together when Culver got in foul trouble.
“Everybody talks about great team wins, and sometimes you look at that and you say, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me, those guys sucked,’ ” Huggins said. “But we were good. What Gabe (Osabuohien) did defensively, he single-handedly cut off their penetration. I’m as pleased as I can be with how we played.”
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