McNeil rallies West Virginia to 71-68 victory over K-State

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Sean McNeil scored 19 of his 26 points in the second half and West Virginia rallied to defeat Kansas State 71-68 in Big 12 Conference play. The Mountaineers trailed 18-4 early and 40-27 at halftime. West Virginia pulled even at 50 on a McNeil layup with 9:09 remaining and took it first lead on McNeil’s 3-pointer 34 seconds later. Nijel Pack answered with a 3 for the Wildcats, but Taz Sherman hit back-to-back 3-pointers and McNeil added a bucket in an 8-0 run to put the Mountaineers up 61-53 with 5:49 left. Ismael Massoud’s 3-pointer with 5 seconds to go pulled the Wildcats within 69-68, but Jalen Bridges hit two free throws and Markquis Nowell missed a game-tying 3 at the buzzer.