MORGANTOWN — Javon Small just didn’t have it.
Amani Hansberry had something cooking for about 21 minutes before No. 9 Texas Tech put the wraps on him, too.
When it was all said and done, West Virginia wasn’t half bad in trying to pull off some magic against another top 10 opponent.
The Red Raiders never let it get any closer and ran away in the second half for a 73-51 victory inside United Supermarkets Arena.
“I thought we did a really good job early,” WVU head coach Darian DeVries said on his radio postgame show. “Those first 15 minutes, we kind of controlled the offense, got some paint touches, got some good movement and really got some quality shots.
“Defensively, I thought we were really locked in to what we were willing to give up. We kept them out of transition.”
That covered the first 15 minutes of the game, where WVU (16-11, 7-9 Big 12) built up a 24-15 lead with 5:24 left in the half.
Along the way, Texas Tech star forward J.T. Toppin missed his first six shots and the Red Raiders (21-6, 12-4) were being held to just 19% (4 of 21) shooting.
It was literally all Texas Tech from that point, as the Red Raiders closed the half on a 15-3 run and then shot an amazing 62.5% (15 of 24) from the field in the second half to win going away.
“They shot 62% in the second half. That’s where the game got away from us,” DeVries said. “We can survive some scoring droughts, but not if our defense isn’t really hooked up.”
The 22-point loss was WVU’s biggest in Big 12 play this season, with only a 24-point setback against Pitt in the nonconference season standing as a larger blemish.
The Mountaineers entered the game 3-2 against top 10-ranked opponents this season, but once Toppin got going late in the first half — he finished with 22 points and eight rebounds — and freshman Christian Anderson pounded in five 3-pointers, it was never a game.
“In the second half, right from their first possession, we weren’t nearly as tough and physical,” DeVries said. “Once those guys get it down in a position where they can go score, they’re pretty darned good. They certainly took advantage of that.”
Anderson got the starting nod from Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland, because Chance McMillian was out with an ankle injury. McMillian is the Red Raiders’ third-leading scorer at 15.1 points per game, but his absence was hardly missed once Texas Tech got going.
Small, who entered the game as the Big 12’s second-leading scorer, battled foul trouble in the first half and missed all four of his shots in the half.
He scored on a free throw in the Mountaineers’ first possession and then went the remaining 19 minutes and 27 seconds without another point.
He tried to force the offense in the second half and wound up going 3 for 10 over the final 20 minutes to finish with 10 points and five assists.
“I thought Javon was pretty aggressive in trying to get downhill and get to the rim,” DeVries said. “He was in attack mode, and we want him to be. There were a few he didn’t finish.
“There were a couple in the second half he might have hesitated on a few open ones that I would have liked to seen him let it rip.”
Hansberry was a different story. He finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double, but 12 of those points and nine of those rebounds came in the first half.
His lone basket in the second half came on WVU’s first possession, which cut into Texas Tech’s lead, 30-29. He went scoreless over the final 19 minutes and 32 seconds of the game.
Elijah Hawkins added 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Red Raiders, who moved up to third in the Big 12 standings and could tie Arizona for second based on how the Wildcats perform late Saturday against BYU.
WVU, which was held to its second-worst shooting performance of the season at 32.8% (19 of 58), fell back to 11th place in the league with a critical home game coming up Tuesday against TCU.
