MORGANTOWN, W.Va. _ West Virginia is no longer is winless in Big 12 Conference play.
The Mountaineers, who had dropped their first five games of the league season, including a 31-point blowout loss at TCU on Tuesday, took out their frustrations on turnover-plagued Kansas with a 65-64 victory on Saturday at WVU Coliseum.
West Virginia's Jermaine Haley hit a bank shot inside with 8.5 seconds left to erase a one-point deficit. Lagerald Vick missed a 3-point shot on the other end and Dedric Lawson missed an inside put-back as WVU hung on.
KU (15-3, 4-2), had snapped a four-game losing streak at WVU a year ago.
Lawson had 15 points and Marcus Garrett 15 points and six steals for the Jayhawks, who led by six points with 2:39 to play.
Turnovers (18) played a big part in this loss as it did KU's other Big 12 loss. KU committed 24 turnovers in a loss at Iowa State on Jan. 5.
KU had one assist to 13 turnovers to West Virginia's eight turnovers in the first half, and the two teams playing to a 23-23 tie.
In the half, the teams combined to miss nine 3s without a make. KU was 0 for 6 and West Virginia 0 for 3.
Vick scored seven points on 3-of-7 shooting while Garrett scored six (3 of 5) the initial half. James "Beetle" Bolden scored seven points and Haley six the first half for WVU (9-9, 1-5).
West Virginia hit 39.9 percent of its shots to KU's 37 percent the first half.
KU used a 7-0 run to turn a 34-32 early second-half deficit into a five-point lead at 39-34 at 15:20. Quentin Grimes hit a 3 then after Garrett's fifth steal of the game, Vick hit a 3 followed by a Lawson free throw.
Esa Ahmad answered with two straight 3s and WVU led, 40-39, at 13:39.
Grimes followed with a 3 and after two Haley free throws Garrett scored and KU led, 44-42, at 11:51.
KU's Garrett hit one of two free throws and Lawson scored and KU led, 47-42, at 10:55. West Virginia's Culver hit a basket and foul shot and Haley a bucket and it was 47-47 at 9:11.
It was 49-49 when Vick hit a 3 to put the Jayhawks up, 52-49, at 7:54.
KU led 56-51 at 7:05, 58-53 at 6:23 and 60-56 at 4:15 on a nice Lawson move to the bucket and hoop.
KU led 64-58 at 2:39 following buckets by Lawson and Garrett. However Wesley Harris hit a 3 to cut it to 64-61 and after a Garrett miss Culver scored to cut the gap to one at 64-63 at 1:16.
After a Garrett miss, Garrett stole the ball but Vick missed at :29. That's when Haley scored the game-winner.
KU led 15-12 at 8:11 despite suffering nine early turnovers. Bolden scored four straight points to give WVU the lead, 16-15, at 5:55.
Lawson scored a basket and hit two free throws and Vick cashed a bucket and KU led, 21-16, at 3:38.
Andrew Gordon had four points, including a dunk, and Bolden had a basket and free throw and WVU led, 23-21, at 1:20. Grimes scored with two seconds left in the half on a play the fans thought was a charge and another KU turnover. No turnover this time and the score was deadlocked at 23 at the break.
KU will next meet Iowa State at 8 p.m., Monday at Allen Fieldhouse. The Cyclones defeated the Jayhawks, 77-60, on Jan. 5 at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.
