West Virginia guard Sencire Harris (10) puts a shot over Kansas guard AJ Storr (2) during the first half on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024 at Allen Fieldhouse. Photo by Nick Krug

West Virginia was missing two of its top three scorers due to injury and reportedly didn’t make it to Lawrence until the wee hours of the morning, but you wouldn’t have known it from the way the Mountaineers opened Tuesday afternoon’s game at Kansas.

Down Tucker DeVries and Amani Hansberry, WVU needed its peripheral players to step up, and the likes of Eduardo Andre and Sencire Harris punished the Jayhawks repeatedly from the opening whistle. Meanwhile, the Mountaineers held a 22-12 rebounding advantage and limited KU to 29.2% shooting in the first half, building a commanding 13-point lead by halftime.

Aided by key minutes off the bench from backup center Flory Bidunga and a heroic effort from Zeke Mayo, KU rallied to even the score at 61-61. But Bidunga got switched onto high-scoring guard Javon Small on the Mountaineers’ final possession, and Small drew a shooting foul with 1.8 seconds left.

Small missed the first free throw but made the second, and instead of completing a memorable rally, the seventh-ranked Jayhawks entered uncharted territory by losing their first conference opener in 34 seasons, dropping a 62-61 result to WVU at Allen Fieldhouse.

The Mountaineers only got 13 points from their usual leading scorer Small, but Andre amassed a season-best 15 — largely on dunks and wide-open layups as KU struggled against ball screens — and Jonathan Powell added 11.

Mayo led all scorers with 27 points, including a key 3 late and a three-point play that tied the game at 61 before Small drew the decisive foul.

The Jayhawks opened the game as cold as can be, missing their first four shots and giving up a 3-pointer to Powell before Bill Self called timeout.

KU also conceded three early buckets to Andre before, after more than five scoreless minutes, Mayo hit a contested 3-pointer to make it 9-3. That bucket did little to stem the tide and WVU soon went up double digits as KU opened the game 3-for-16 from the field.

Rylan Griffen hit a straight-on 3 that made it 17-10, only for the Jayhawks to give up a corner 3 to former KU guard Joe Yesufu to kick off an 8-0 run for the Mountaineers.

After going behind by 15 points, KU showed signs of life, largely as a result of increased aggression by Mayo, who finished the first half with nine points. But Sencire Harris made a trio of tough floaters in the final minutes of the half and Mayo released his final corner 3 long after the buzzer, allowing WVU to enter the break up 33-20.

The nine Jayhawks other than Mayo who played in the first half combined to shoot 5-for-20 from the field.

Powell sank a deep 3 early in the second half to give WVU its largest lead of the day, and then Andre added a layup moments later to match his season high with 14 points.

After a long, dormant period, the Jayhawks started to play their best defense of the day — aided by, of all things, on-ball perimeter defense from Bidunga — and inched closer and closer, cutting the Mountaineers’ advantage to 48-38 with a series of free throws, then to 50-42 on a putback by Bidunga before WVU called timeout.

Bidunga laid it in again after the stoppage, and Mayo added his seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th free throws to cut the deficit to two points.

That was where KU’s comeback stalled, as KJ Tenner hit a floater over Bidunga, before David Coit missed a 3 and Yesufu hit one from the right wing.

Down 57-53 with 2:22 to go, KU lost possession on an over-and-back call after Mayo leapt to try to save a high pass by Bidunga from crossing midcourt, and Small hit a deep jump shot to make it a six-point margin. Mayo drained a stepback 3 with 1:26 to go. He missed his next attempt from deep, but a putback by Hunter Dickinson kept KU in contention.

After Small’s go-ahead free throw, KJ Adams was unable to get off a shot in time once he fielded a full-court pass from Dickinson.

For the second year in a row, KU (9-3, 0-1 Big 12) will play its first league road game in Orlando, Florida, as the Jayhawks take on UCF on Sunday at 3 p.m. Central Time.