CANCUN, Mexico — Miles McBride came off the bench to score 18 points and hand out five assists as West Virginia overcame a 15-point second-half deficit to beat Northern Iowa, 60-55, in the Cancun Challenge on Tuesday night.
The Mountaineers (5-0) trailed 42-27 after Northern Iowa’s Isaiah Brown buried a 3-pointer with 10 minutes, 31 seconds remaining in the second half. Jermaine Haley’s jumper and a 3-pointer from Sean McNeil pulled West Virginia with 46-40 with 6:47 left to play.
McBride hit a 3-pointer and a jumper to give the Mountaineers a 51-50 lead, but Trae Berhow hit from distance to put UNI up 53-51 with 2:21 to go. Derek Culver sank two free throws to pull West Virginia even at 53-53. Justin Dahl’s jumper with 1:27 left gave UNI a 55-53 lead, but the Panthers went scoreless from there.
Emmitt Matthews Jr. made 1 of 2 free throws, and his tip-in off a missed free throw put the Mountaineers on top for good with 16 seconds left.
Haley finished with 10 points and seven rebounds, and Culver hauled in 15 rebounds.
Brown led UNI (6-1) with 15 points, and he added six boards.
The Mountaineers remained unbeaten by getting to the foul line and sinking 16 of 25 attempts. They doubled their point total in the second half after trailing 23-20 at intermission.
West Virginia plays Wichita State on Wednesday in the championship game of the Riviera Division of the Cancun Challenge.
