MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — At different times Tuesday, West Virginia showed the two versions of itself.
The combo of Miles McBride and Derek Culver made sure the Mountaineers didn’t end in disaster.
Culver finished with 17 points and nine rebounds and McBride added 17 points, including six from the foul line in the final 1:39, as the Mountaineers ended a three-game losing streak with a 77-71 victory against Iowa State in front of 13,870 inside Hilton Coliseum.
The first half was shades of the Mountaineers (20-10, 8-9 Big 12) from back in December.
That’s when WVU was at its best this season, finding ways to make different lineups click and pounding the ball inside to Culver.
Even when it went wrong, it still went right for WVU in the first half.
The last play of the half may have been the best example.
After Culver stole the ball from Tre Jackson, he shot an errant 3-pointer — his first attempt of the season from behind the arc — with seven seconds still remaining on the clock.
Culver had obviously thought time was running out, but McBride was there for the offensive rebound and he flipped it to Sean McNeil, who then found a cutting Culver for a lay-up with 1.1 seconds left.
Culver, who had 14 points in the first half, left for the locker room laughing, which was the first sign of the Mountaineers having any kind of fun on the road in a long time.
The second half was a different story. It, too, was shades of the Mountaineers, but the more recent version.
That version has been nothing short of an offensive disaster and the opening minutes of the second half were just that.
Iowa State opened the half on an 11-0 run and WVU didn’t manage a point until Taz Sherman connected on two free throws with 14:17 remaining and didn’t hit its first field goal until McBride scored along the baseline with 12:57 left.
In losing six of its last seven, that scoring drought would have meant the end for the Mountaineers, but not this time.
Facing a 56-52 deficit with 9:30 left, Oscar Tshiebwe scored in the paint and then McBNnride nailed a three for a 57-56 lead.
After Iowa State (12-18, -5-12), which played its seventh straight game without star guard Tyrese Haliburton, who is out for the rest of the season with an injured wrist, came back to tie the game at 60, Culver responded with an offensive putback.
He then found Jermaine Haley on a high-low play that gave WVU a 64-60 lead with 4:56 remaining and the Mountaineers never trailed again.
Playing away from the WVU Coliseum hasn’t been the Mountaineers’ strong suit this season — WVU entered the game 1-7 as the visitor — in Big 12 play.
As those losses mounted, the Mountaineers opportunities to remain at the top of the conference standings dwindled.
With this win, WVU is tied for fifth with Oklahoma heading into Saturday’s home regular-season finale against No. 4 Baylor.
As it stands, the Mountaineers would be the No. 6 seed for the Big 12 tournament under the current standings.
The win also saw Huggins pass North Carolina legend Dean Smith on the all-time wins list with his 880th career victory.
Rasir Bolton led the Cyclones with 21 points and he went 1 for 2 from the line to cut WVU’s lead, 73-71, with 23.7 seconds left, but McBride iced the game from the foul line the rest of the way.
West Virginia’s 77 points was its most since scoring 81 in a loss at Texas Tech on Jan. 29.
Tshiebwe added 11 points and nine rebounds and Taz Sherman scored 12 off the bench.
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