West Virginia came back from 16 points down in the second half to knock off Missouri, 83-79, in the championship game of the AdvoCare Invitational played at HP Field House tonight in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. A Jontay Porter layup with 7:58 left gave the Tigers a 68-52 lead, but the game turned after a timeout.
WVU’s Jevon Carter scored their first nine points and finished with a career-high 29, while and Daxter Miles Jr. added 26. Their defensive pressure late helped swing the game. Jordan Geist tried to throw the ball off Carter on an inbound pass and he picked it off and drove in for a layup. Another Carter steal led to a pair of free throws and Carter added two more steals that cut Mizzou’s lead to five with 4:11 to go.
Turnovers by Kevin Puryear and Jordan Geist made it a one-point game with 3:18 left. After Kassius Robertson had a three-point attempt blocked, Carter hit a contested three giving West Virginia a 77-75 lead, its first of the second half.
Mizzou (5-2) got 21 points and 11 rebounds from Jordan Barnett. Robertson and Puryear scored 13 each. Jontay Porter scored nine points, nine rebounds, five blocks, two assists and one steal, but fouled out.
Mizzou shot 43% from the floor, including 12-of-30 from three point range, but WVU made 31 of 35 free throws.
The Tigers arrived back in Columbia, just after 3 a.m. They return to Orlando for a game against UCF this Thursday at 8:00 p.m.