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Carter makes history as No. 21 WVU beats Iowa State 85-70 (Feb 24, 2018)
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) Jevon Carter needed one assist to make history.
It turned out to be just one of his milestones on Saturday.
Carter scored 24 points as No. 21 West Virginia pulled away for an 85-70 victory over Iowa State.
With 15:59 left in the first half, Carter picked up his first assist of the game, setting up a 3-pointer by Esa Ahmad to become the first major-conference player in NCAA history to record more than 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, 500 assists and 300 steals in a career.
With 6:42 left in the second half, Carter reached another big number, surpassing 1,600 career points, becoming only the 14th player to do so in West Virginia program history.
''Like I always say, I don't pay any attention to records until after I'm done,'' Carter said. ''After my last game, I'll look back on my career. It's big to be in the position that I'm in. It just goes to show you that hard work can take you anywhere.''
West Virginia (21-8, 10-6 Big 12) was held in check early by the short-handed Cyclones. Iowa State played only five starters and two reserves and led the Mountaineers by as much as four with 11 minutes left in the first half.
WVU clawed back to tie the game at 28 with 3:39 left, and then closed with an 11-2 run to take a 39-30 halftime lead. The Mountaineers opened the second half with an 8-2 run, and the Cyclones (13-15, 4-12) never recovered.
West Virginia out-rebounded Iowa State 47-27.
Ahmad had 18 points and 11 rebounds for his second career double-double. Sagaba Konate added 14 points along with six blocks, and Daxter Miles scored 14 points.
Lindell Wigginton led Iowa State with a game-high 29 points.
''He's really good,'' Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins said. ''I was trying to find out if they had any more guys like that in Nova Scotia. He's good. He can score it off the bounce, he shoots it off the catch and he's just really good.''
Terrence Lewis added 12 points and Cameron Lard grabbed 10 rebounds.
''Jevon is really good and I'm glad he's a senior,'' Iowa State coach Steve Prohm said.
BIG PICTURE
Iowa State remains winless on the road in the Big 12 with one opportunity remaining, at Oklahoma on Mar. 2. The Cyclones will get Donovon Jackson back for their home game against Oklahoma State on Tuesday. Jackson missed Saturday's game to attend his father's funeral.
West Virginia has won three of its last four games and has a chance to earn the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 tournament.
FIGHTING FOR A SHARE
The Mountaineers' home finale against Texas Tech will hold Big 12 title implications. Kansas clinched at least a share of the conference championship for the 14th straight season by beating the Red Raiders on Saturday, and with WVU and Texas Tech two games back, Monday's game is now an elimination game for a possible share of the title.
''We lost a couple games, in hindsight, that we'd really like to have back, or we would have put us in a position where that could've been us taking the trophy instead of someone else,'' Huggins said.
UNLUCKY SEVEN
Iowa State had only seven players available. Nick Weiler-Babb and Solomon Young were out with knee injuries. The Cyclones have played only 10 of their 28 games with all players available.
POLL IMPICATIONS
Despite sweeping the week, West Virginia seems unlikely to move up more than a couple of spots in the new AP Top 25 poll on Monday. Many of the teams just above the Mountaineers also stayed in the win column.
UP NEXT
Iowa State plays its final home game against Oklahoma State on Tuesday.
West Virginia hosts No. 8 Texas Tech on Monday in its final home game.
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