Ric Feld / AP

Texas guard Kenton Paulino is lifted by teammates. Paulino hit a three-pointer with no time remaining to give Texas a win over West Virginia in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.

The Mountaineers rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit to briefly take the lead, but the Longhorns — led by the inside play of Aldridge — answered the challenge.

“We felt good about the first half, but we know how West Virginia shoots the ball,” Paulino said.

With 1:29 left to play, Pittsnogle was called for a foul on Aldridge, though it was Pittsnogle who came away from the contact with a bloody nose.

Aldridge made one of two free throws for a 68-65 lead, and Abrams added two free throws with 26.9 seconds left to make it 70-65.

Mike Gansey, who had 18 points for West Virginia, hit a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left to cut it to 70-68.

A free throw by Aldridge pushed the lead to 71-68, setting the stage for the two late 3-pointers.

Relying almost completely on its 3-point shooting, West Virginia trailed 39-27 at halftime. All of its points came on 3-pointers and free throws until, with only 6 seconds left in the half, J.D. Collins scored on a short jumper for the Mountaineers’ first 2-point shot.

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“We thought we were a better team than what we showed in the first half,” Gansey said.

When Texas began anticipating West Virginia would continue to rely on 3-pointers, the Mountaineers quickly closed the deficit by scoring on cuts to the basket.

West Virginia scored eight points in the first minute of the second half and trailed 40-37 following a rare inside basket by Pittsnogle 4 minutes into the half.

A 3-pointer by Pittsnogle with 8:14 left pulled West Virginia even at 58, and the Mountaineers took a 61-58 lead on a 3-pointer by Gansey less than a minute later.

Texas answered with seven straight points.

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Jae C. Hong / AP

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