West Virginia vs. Texas: Score, Highlights and Reaction from 2016 Regular Season

No. 24 Texas swept the season series against No. 10 West Virginia with an 85-78 victory on Tuesday night at Frank Erwin Center in Austin. 

The Longhorns used a solid shooting performance in which they went just under 50 percent from the field and solid ball security to break a two-game losing skid. 

But it was the Mountaineers who looked like they would put their last outing against Texas, a 56-49 loss, behind them. West Virginia hit eight of its first 10 shots after shooting just 31 percent from the field back in January, per ESPN Stats & Info.   

The start gave the Mountaineers an early eight-point lead, but then Texas ignited, especially from three-point range. 

Behind Eric Davis Jr., Texas hit seven three-pointers in the first half alone. ESPN Stats & Info shared Davis' first-half shot chart:

The Big 12 Conference showed Davis' final three of the half, which was also his final score of the game:

Davis, a freshman, scored all 15 of his points of the game in the first half. It was guard Isaiah Taylor who carried the Texas offense, though. He led the team with 23 points and seven assists for his sixth 20-point game of the season.

The Longhorns ended the half on a 12-4 run to head into halftime up nine, and they shot 62 percent from the field. West Virginia was even better from the field at 63 percent in the first half, but it just couldn't keep up with Texas' prowess from deep. 

It also didn't help that one of its top players, guard Jaysean Paige, sprained his ankle during the first half. He was helped off the court but returned to the game.

The knock reflected in his performance, as he didn't record a single point. 

With the way Texas shot the ball, CBS Philly's Kevin Kinkead didn't like that Paige played at all in the second half:

Paige was taken out and rested toward the end of the game. 

Playing from behind, West Virginia resorted to the press on defense. But Texas had little trouble getting out of it as its lead swelled to double digits in the second half. 

Rush the Court's Brian Goodman knew West Virginia's press was going to have a tough time:

Texas did an outstanding job to break the press. It took care of the ball well against a West Virginia defense that entered Tuesday night leading the nation in takeaways with 19.1 per game. The Longhorns turned the ball over just seven times on the night. 

Everything was working for Texas, even its free-throw shooting. Entering Tuesday shooting 65 percent from the charity stripe, the Longhorns shot 25-of-30, good for 83.3 percent. Taylor alone went 13-of-13 from the line, with most of it coming toward the end of the game.

West Virginia managed to pull off a late 10-0 run to cut its deficit to single digits and make some Texas fans sweat out the final minutes of the game. But the Mountaineers simply ran out of time.

No. 2 Kansas should thank Texas for defeating West Virginia. The Mountaineers' loss gives Kansas a one-game lead after its win over Oklahoma State on Monday. 

The Longhorns stay in shouting distance of Kansas and West Virginia in the Big 12 with the win. At 8-5 in conference play, Texas is just two games behind Kansas for the Big 12 lead.

Post-Game Reaction

It's a good sign for a team when big contributions are coming from all over the roster. On Tuesday night, it was from the freshman Davis. He's just one of three freshmen who are producing for head coach Shaka Smart's team as he spoke with the media after the game via Mike Finger of the Houston Chronicle:

Davis recently showed that he wants to play his part in Texas' season, per Brian Davis of the Austin-American Statesman:

For West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins, he couldn't get over Texas' shooting effort, via Finger:

It's not going to get any easier for West Virignia in their final four games of the regular season. The Mountainners still have to take on No. 13 Iowa State and No. 25 Baylor before the beginning of the Big 12 tournament. 

Texas has an even tougher stretch of games remaining as they have matchups with No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 2 Kansas in a three day span. Getting a win against a top-10 opponent before those two games will surely boost Texas' confidence heading into a very tough stretch of schedule. 

Stats courtesy of ESPN.com.