Traore, Utah hold off West Virginia 61-56 while putting a dent in Mountaineers' NCAA Tourney hopes

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Seydou Traore scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds, and Utah held off West Virginia's desperate rally and beat the Mountaineers 61-56 on Wednesday night.

Terrence Brown and Don McHenry each scored 16 points for the Utes, who never trailed and ended a seven-game losing streak. Utah (10-16, 2-11 Big 12) entered the contest have lost 12 of its last 13.

It was also Utah’s first true road victory since Jan. 15, 2025 when the Utes beat TCU, 73-65.

Reserve Chance Moore and Honor Huff scored 12 points apiece and Brenen Lorient scored 10 for West Virginia.

Both teams left points on the table via the foul line with Utah shooting 14 of 21 and West Virginia at 7 of 15.

Utah led 59-56 with 5.6 seconds left when West Virginia intentionally fouled Traore who missed both foul shots. Jasper Floyd grabbed the defensive rebound but then threw a pass out of bounds trying to connect with Huff. Brown made a pair of foul shots to seal it.

The Utes led 31-21 at halftime and used a 15-5 run to start the second half for their largest lead of the game, 41-26. The Mountaineers then outscored Utah 16-6 over a 7-minute span to get within 47-42 with 8:58 left.

West Virginia's (16-10, 7-6) NCAA Tournament hopes received a substantial blow with the home loss to Quad-3 Utah.

The Mountaineers have a win against Kansas — but in a loaded Big 12 — owns losses to ranked conference opponents Arizona, Houston, Iowa State and Texas Tech.

Up Next

Utah: Will host UCF on Saturday.

West Virginia: Travels to face TCU on Saturday. ___

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