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Georgia Southern moves past Marshall 82-78 for fifth win in 5 days

MetroNews Staff — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 04:58:01 +0000

— By David Walsh

Georgia Southern continued its incredible postseason run Sunday night by outscoring Marshall 6-1 over the final minute to escape an 82-78 victory in the second Sun Belt Conference semifinal game at the Pensacola Bay Center.

The Eagles (21-15) made it five wins in five days to reach Monday night’s title game against No. 1 seed Troy. The Trojans eliminated Southern Miss in the first semifinal, 78-70. The winner gets the league’s automatic to the NCAA Tournament.

Marshall, the No. 2 seed by virtue of winning a six-way tiebreaker, hadn’t played in more than a week. The Thundering Herd finish 19-13.

“We had a chance to play for the league championship and came up short,” Herd assistant coach Steve Snell said on postgame radio. “They made the plays down the stretch that we didn’t. We fought hard and came out on the short end.”

Georgia Southern swept the Herd in the regular season and had 200 points and 28 three-pointers in the two games. The bombing slacked off a bit as the Eagles had just two threes in the second half and went 7 of 26 for the night.

Georgia Southern turned to Spudd Webb to secure the win. He poured in 31 points, went 8 of 14 from the field and proved clutch at the foul line with a 13 of 14 effort. Down the stretch, Webb willed his way to the basket multiple times and it paid off in the form of free throws.

Andres Burney scored 12 points and Tyren Moore and Alden Applewhite 11 each in the win.

Marshall battled adversity before and during the game. Normal starting guard Noah Otshudi, with a 14-point average, did not suit up as he battles an illness. Big man Erich Harding played just 5 minutes in the first half. And the Herd had three players with three fouls each in the first half.

Shamarrie Hugie led Marshall with a career-high 19 points and eight rebounds. Wyatt Fricks, playing in his final game, totaled 18 points. Jalen Speer scored 15, Caleb Hollenbeck 11 and Landen Joseph 10. Hollenbeck got all his points in the second half and made three three-pointers.

“In the second half, Erich was a little banged up and we had to go small,” Snell said. “They took advantage of it. We came up one play short tonight. Winner-take-all and we didn’t make that one play. We did have some guys step up.”

Marshall struggled to find an answer for Webb.

“He’s such a good player,” Snell said. “He’s a foul magnet. He gets fouled a lot and makes them. We have to learn not to foul as much.”

The Herd trailed by nine early in the second half and Hollenbeck came on to hit three baskets, two of them threes, to cut the lead to 46-45. Joseph’s three-pointer with 15:19 left capped a 15-2 run and gave Marshall the lead, 50-48. The teams went back and forth from that point.

Over the final 6 minutes, there were five times, while Hollenbeck’s three left Marshall with a 77-76 lead with 1:24 remaining.

Webb’s two free throw with 56 seconds to go put the Eagles ahead to stay 78-77. After a Herd turnover, Webb got fouled with 28 seconds left and made both for a three-point advantage. The Eagles had one foul to take, then fouled Fricks with 16 seconds on the clock and he made one of two to make it 80-78.

The Herd had to foul and sent Moore to the line with 10 seconds left and he made both to make it 82-78.

In the first half, one of the three fouls on Speer was a technical just 1:30 before halftime.

Georgia Southern’s biggest lead was 13 at 25-12 with 8:54 left on a triple from Khayri Dunn. A three by Wilson Dubinsky at 5:37 got the Herd within two at 27-25. The Eagles then ruled the final five minutes to lead by seven (42-35) at the break.

Georgia Southern defeated Marshall three times in as many matchups from February 14 on. The Eagles have scored at least 80 points in all five Sun Belt Tournament wins.

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West Liberty never trails in 93-88 victory against Fairmont State for fifth MEC crown

MetroNews — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:39:58 +0000

— By Bryan Dillon, For MountainEast.org

WHEELING, W.VA. — Top-seeded West Liberty never trailed and held off a comeback bid on the way to capturing its fifth MEC tournament championship, 93-88, over second-seeded Fairmont State on Sunday afternoon at WesBanco Arena.

West Liberty has a 27-4 record, while Fairmont State is 26-5. Both teams will await the release of the Division II men’s tournament bracket this evening.

“It was a heck of a college basketball game,” said West Liberty head coach Michael Lamberti. “WesBanco was very packed with a lot of energy. West Liberty and Fairmont State yet again. It has happened numerous times over the last couple of years, and I thought it was a classic Mountain East Conference championship game.”

As they did throughout the tournament in historical fashion, West Liberty’s defense stepped to the forefront, forcing Fairmont State into 19 turnovers, through eight steals. West Liberty tied the tournament record with 47 steals over three games, a record they set in 2025.

Freshman Myles Montgomery led the Hilltoppers defensively throughout the tournament, setting an individual steals record with 14, surpassing former Hilltopper JP Dragas’ previous record of 11 set in last year’s tournament. Following the game it was announced that Montgomery was named tournament MVP after averaging 17.3 points per game and 4.6 steals per game.

When asked about winning the MVP and Mountain East Championship Trophies, Myles Montgomery said, “it feels really good, and it is a blessing to have this [trophy]. I could not have won [MVP], or we could not have all won [the tournament] without a whole team effort. I could not have done anything I have done without the coaches and all the players. We are a whole team, and we have more games to win.”

Speaking on his impact on the defensive end, Montgomery said,” Everybody knows we play really fast and trap a lot. I have fun doing it, the whole team does. We always say, let’s just fly around, and that has been our motto all year. I can’t get steals if my teammates can’t get traps. We all just fly around, and I get fortunate a lot of times for the ball to land in my lap.

The strength in depth that the Hilltoppers showed throughout the tournament once again showed up on Sunday afternoon as Peter Lattos set the tone for WLU with 16 first-half points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field. Lattos finished with 18 total points, helping West Liberty to a 35-27 advantage in bench points.

Lattos was joined by four teammates in double digits, including Myles Montgomery and Hayden Abdullah with 13 points, Cam Williams with 12 points, and Aiden Davis with 11 points. Fairmont State was led in scoring by Drey Carter, who finished with a game–high 23 points, and David Jolinder, who added 15 points.

With a four-point lead with 13:07 remaining in the first half, Peter Lattos hit five of the next six field goals for the Hilltoppers, including a three-pointer with 8:56 remaining to open up a 12-point lead. Three minutes later, West Liberty went on an 8-0 run fueled by five points from Myles Montgomery to open up its lead to 19, before eventually taking a 51-30 advantage into the break. The 21 point halftime margin set a tournament record for the largest lead at the break of a championship game.

“We came out pretty hot in the first half, hitting a lot of shots … and had a 21-point lead going into the half,” continued Lamberti. “I think that was huge for us because Fairmont really put their foot on the gas in the second half.”

“We came up a little short,” stated Fairmont State head coach Tim Koenig. “The turnovers in the first half really hurt us. We struggled to make shots from the perimeter and had some issues on the glass, but I am really proud of our fight and togetherness in the second half. We just ran out of time … tonight we came up a little short. I am very grateful to get another practice. I do not know who we are going to play, but I am so grateful to have another opportunity to play a game.”

Fairmont State showed its fight in the second half. After West Liberty took its largest lead of the game, 24 points on the opening basket of the second half, the Falcons began to slowly chip away at the deficit. FSU mixed in a pair of 8-2 runs, which helped cut the lead to as little as three points. It was not enough as the Hilltoppers hit ten free throws over the final 1:04 to hold on to their lead. Drey Carter scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half for Fairmont State.

Ranked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, in the last regional rankings update, West Liberty and Fairmont will find out their opponent in the upcoming NCAA Division II tournament when the final seeds are announced at 11 p.m. this evening.

Tournament Awards

Highest Scorer: Trey Simmons, Frostburg State

Commissioner’s Heart & Hustle: Miguel Martinez, Fairmont State

All-Tournament Team

Bobacar Djigo, Concord

Trey Simmons, Frostburg State

Jalen Knott, Glenville State

Miguel Martinez, Fairmont State

Drey Carter, Fairmont State

Jamie Muldoeney, West Liberty

Cameron Williams, West Liberty

MVP – Myles Montgomery, West Liberty

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Charleston downs Glenville State in defensive struggle for MEC Championship

MetroNews — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:28:57 +0000

— By Duane Cochran, For Mountain East.org

WHEELING, W.VA. — The University of Charleston’s second-ranked defense in the Mountain East Conference turned in a record-setting performance here Sunday afternoon to help the third-seeded Golden Eagles claim a hard-fought 48-43 victory over top-seeded Glenville State in the league’s annual women’s tournament championship game here at WesBanco Arena.

The win improved UC to 21-10 on the year and earns the Golden Eagles an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Atlantic Regional Tournament which will get under way Friday at a site which will be announced Sunday evening.

Glenville, which fell to 24-6 with Sunday’s loss, is also expected to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Atlantic Regional.

The tournament championship is the first for UC since it won back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022 and it’s the Golden Eagles’ third MEC tourney title overall. UC also became the first-ever three seed to win the tournament.

The Pioneers, who have a record five MEC Tournament championships, lost for the second straight year in the title game.

“You guys just got a really good game,” said UC coach Bubby Johnson. “I know people get upset in Super Bowls and whatnot when it’s low scoring and they don’t get a whole lot of points, but I’m sorry to disappoint. I thought both teams played amazing defense. Everybody had to work for everything.

“I’m really proud of my girls for how hard they fought. They got 60 rebounds against a very good Glenville team so they have every right to be proud of themselves.”

The 60 rebounds were an MEC finals’ game record. The Golden Eagles’ defense also set championship game records for fewest points allowed (43), fewest points allowed in a quarter (7), lowest field goal percentage allowed (21 percent, 13-of-62) and lowest 3-point field goal percentage allowed (9.5 percent, 2-of-21).

Glenville was 0-of-13 on field goals in the fourth and final quarter when it scored just seven points – all of which came at the line.

The Pioneers, who shot 49 percent from the field and 52 percent from three in its semifinal win Saturday over Fairmont State, got some good looks Sunday but not much of anything would fall. The 43 total points were a season low for the Pioneers, who had scored 71 or more points in all but three games this season prior to Sunday.

“Obviously not the day we wanted,” said GSU coach Emily Stoller. “There’s a winner and loser in every championship game and everyone wants to be on the winning side. It just wasn’t our day today.

“It’s not like us to score in the 40s. Shots just weren’t falling for us. We had opportunities, but pretty much didn’t make anything.

“At the end of the day we lost a basketball game. Props to Charleston. They got the job done and were the better team today. I’m proud of my kids for fighting to the end. Hopefully we’ll be playing more next week in the regional.”

Charleston led by as many as 11 in the first 20 minutes before settling for a seven-point advantage at the break.

In the third quarter GSU gave the Golden Eagles a dose of their own medicine in terms of staunch defense. Glenville held UC to just eight points on 2-of-15 shooting and closed to within two at 38-36 with 10 minutes to play.

“We just focused on keeping our composure,” Charleston’s Ksenija Mitric said. “We knew they were going to make a run because they’re a really good offensive team. They’re going to come after you and try to turn you over and get a quick run, so we just kept saying to one another that we had to play together and keep our composure no matter what happened.

“It’s a four-quarter game no matter what and we knew we had to play all four quarters.”

Despite its struggles offensively, the Pioneers still had numerous chances to win the contest down the stretch and couldn’t cash in on them. Trailing 46-43 GSU’s Nylah Davis got a wide open look at a three with 26 seconds remaining which would have tied the game. The shot, though, was off the mark and UC’s Bridget Womber cleared the rebound – her game-high 16th.

At the other end Charleston’s Mitric, who finished with seven points, seven rebounds and three assists, found a wide open Livia O’dea under the basket on a side inbounds pass and O’dea laid the ball in to give her team a 48-43 lead with 10 seconds to play.

On the Pioneers’ ensuing possession Jayda Allie attempted a three with six seconds to play and it too was off target and rebounded by UC’s Mitric which sealed the victory for her team.

“It was a rough night for us,” said Glenville’s Carine Pinkey, who led her team with 16 points and four steals. “It got a little frustrating for us because we just couldn’t find our shots or get them to fall.

“All in all though I believe we stuck together and had our chances, but we just couldn’t convert on them.”

Pinkey and Nwando Okigbo were the lone players in the game to reach double figures in scoring. Together they accounted for 26 of GSU’s 43 points with Okigbo getting 10 points and a team-high 11 rebounds.

UC had no one in double digits in the scoring column. Jordan Scully led the Golden Eagles with nine points, while tournament MVP Paris Stokes chipped in eight points, five rebounds and three assists.

“Being MVP is a credit to my teammates,” Stokes said. “They put me in good positions to score or take advantage of mismatches all season.”

The eight-member all-tournament team consisted of Charleston’s Stokes, Scully and Mitric, Glenville’s Okigbo and Wonder Nkoyock, Fairmont State’s Gabby Reep, Frostburg State’s Jenna Muha and West Liberty’s Reagan Vinskovich, the tournament’s scoring average leader (26.5).

The Commissioner’s Heart and Hustle Award went to GSU’s Okigbo.

Tournament Awards

Highest Scorer: Reagan Vinslovich, West Liberty

Commissioner’s Heart & Hustle: Nwando Okigbo, Glenville State

All-Tournament Team

Jenna Muha, Frostburg State

Gabby Reep, Fairmont State

Reagan Vinskovich, West Liberty

Nwando Okigbo, Glenville State

Wonder Nkoyock, Glenville State

Jordan Scully, Charleston

Ksenija Mitric, Charleston

MVP — Paris Stokes, Charleston

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Third time’s a charm: Mountaineers top TCU 62-53 to win Big 12

Greg Carey — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:16:18 +0000

West Virginia women’s basketball coach Mark Kellogg has been upfront regarding the importance of hosting games in the NCAA Tournament.

The 15th-ranked Mountaineers took a major step toward enhancing their case for a host bid Sunday, defeating No. 10 TCU 62-53 for the program’s second Big 12 Conference Championship at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.

“We have unbelievable character around us, the players included. All the credit to those guys,” WVU head coach Mark Kellogg said. ”They did the hard work. We just try to put the plans together and put them in place and let these kids showcase what they’re capable of and that was on display tonight.”

WVU (27-6) had lost a pair of competitive games to No. 1 seed TCU (29-5) in the regular season, including on a Marta Suarez three-pointer at the buzzer in Morgantown.

But in the third meeting between the teams over the last two months, the Mountaineers never trailed in the second half.

WVU point guard Jordan Harrison scored nine of her game-high 21 points in the opening half, which the Mountaineers on a 7-0 run to lead 26-23.

Kellogg’s team gained separation in the latter stages of the third quarter, increasing what was a two-point advantage almost 4 minutes into the second half to an 11-point lead through three frames.

A 9-2 spurt over the final 4:02 of the third was pivotal and began with Carter McCray’s second-chance bucket. That stretch also included jumpers from Gia Cooke and Harrison, one free throw from McCray and Harrison’s driving layup just before time expired that left WVU with a 43-32 lead ahead of the fourth.

A three-pointer from Sydney Shaw with 8:45 remaining left TCU with a 46-34 deficit, and it grew to 14 on separate occasions in the final quarter.

The Mountaineers had a 56-43 advantage when Harrison made two free throws with 1:30 left, but the Horned Frogs didn’t go away quietly.

TCU was to within six less than a minute later five consecutive points from Suarez and two free throws from Veronica Sheffey.

Harrison then made two fouls shots to up the lead to eight, and after a defensive stop, Shaw got free for a transition layup that all but wrapped up the result.

CHEERS TO YOU, MARK KELLOGG #Big12WBB | @phillips66gas pic.twitter.com/il5uMlVDHW

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) March 8, 2026

“I don’t know if we put all four quarters together, but we’re getting closer and closer,” Kellogg said. “When you’re playing elite talent, and probably Suarez and [Olivia] Miles are going to be top 10 draft picks, you try to be disruptive and keep them off-balance and defend the rest of the really good players. We did a good job on them for the most part. They hit a few threes late. Our kids were dialed into the game plan and executed, but they compete. They’ll get out and get after you, guard and they’re relentless.”

The result gives WVU its second Big 12 Championship in what marked the program’s fourth appearance in the Big 12 final.

In addition to being the game’s high scorer, Harrison had six rebounds, four steals and three assists. She was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and joins Shaw on the five-player all-tournament team.

“We knew the things on the line and that’s something we talked about,” Harrison said. “We want to get two [NCAA Tournament] games in Morgantown, but we wanted to stay in the present of the game and situation. We knew if we did that then this would be the outcome of it.”

Shaw scored 17 to go with seven rebounds and Kierra ‘MeMe’ Wheeler added 10 points and eight boards. McCray also had eight rebounds, as WVU won the board battle, 41-34.

TCU shot 33 percent overall and 8 for 31 from long range.

Miles led the Horned Frogs with 17 points and Suarez scored 16 on 19 field-goal attempts to go with a team-high eight rebounds.

Miles and Suarez are also on the all-tournament team, as is Kansas State’s Jordan Speiser.

TCU’s three-lowest scoring outputs this season are the three games against the Mountaineers in which they managed 51, 59 and 53 points.

West Virginia will discover its opponent and site for the NCAA Tournament opener next Sunday.

WVU will enter the NCAA Tournament having won six straight and 10 of 11.

“We’ve just gotten better. Our non-league schedule was really good and put us in these situations,” Kellogg said. “We’re getting comfortable in this now and even in this tournament, [teams] made runs at us in the fourth quarter and that’s where you see us relax and make those runs. Thankfully we played from in front tonight where it felt comfortable.”

The Mountaineers discover their opponent and site for the opening round of the NCAA Tournament next Sunday. The top 16 seeds (four in each region) are awarded host sites. Entering Sunday, WVU had a NET rating of 18 and TCU’s was 10.

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Ineich drives in six as WVU takes series from Columbia, 16-1

Joe Brocato — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 21:32:32 +0000

GRANVILLE, W.Va. — West Virginia scored runs in six of their eight innings at the plate to take the rubber game of their weekend series with Columbia in emphatic fashion, 16-1. After dropping Friday’s series opener, 7-4, the Mountaineers scored 25 runs in the final two games to win their fourth weekend series in four tries this season.

“I think the guys probably played their best baseball of the weekend today,” said WVU head coach Steve Sabins. “Yesterday was a really gritty win where I think we had to fight through a lot of things and we did it defensively.”

Leadoff batter and shortstop Matt Ineich broke the game open with a grand slam to cap a six-run second inning. Ineich added a two-run single in the third inning to finish the game with six runs batted in.

“It is a really good ballpark here with the win blowing out to left field. It definitely rewards misses for left-handed hitters. To be able to see a fastball like that and stay through it to the backside, I let the wind do the rest,” Ineich said of his grand slam.

Gavin Kelly, Brodie Kresser and Sean Smith also had two hits each. Kresser drove in three runs.

“The consistency of that kid as a human is what I like the most,” Sabins said of Kresser. “He is a Mountaineer through and through. He shows up everyday poised and confident. He is team-oriented. Regardless of the results, he is going to give you host best effort every single day.”

Redshirt junior southpaw Maxx Yehl authored another impressive start for the Mountaineers. He allowed just one run in a season-high six innings of work. He yielded five hits and struck out a season-high nine batters. Yehl has allowed one run in 17 innings of work over four appearances this season. Yehl has increased his innings in each of his four starts.

“It was just the confidence with everything,” Yehl said. “Every time I looked down and saw the pitch called, I was convicted with everything I threw. It just felt good and I kept running positive thoughts through my head.”

“Maxx Yehl gave us an incredible start,” Sabins said. “That was the longest outing of his career. He has now done that for four consecutive weekends.”

Hurricane High School graduate and 2025 West Virginia Player of the Year Weston Smith made his collegiate debut for the Mountaineers in the eighth inning. Smith allowed two hits but he later induced an inning-ending double play to put up a scoreless frame.

“He had been banged up to start the season,” Sabins said. “He had an injury and he had been back and available for about seven days. As a freshman coming back from injury, obviously that is a lot of trust in a coaching staff to then put you in a real game. We have ultimate trust in Weston Smith.

Joshua Suriago and JD Costanzo also posted scoreless innings in relief for West Virginia.

West Virginia (10-3) will host Maryland Tuesday at 2 p.m.

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Marshall meets Georgia Southern in Sun Belt semifinal

MetroNews Staff — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 19:30:48 +0000

— By Bill Cornwell

An extended break ahead of Sun Belt Conference Tournament play ends Sunday for Marshall.

The Thundering Herd wrapped up the 2025-26 regular season February 27 with a 99-82 home loss to Georgia Southern.

Despite the result, a six-way tie for second place in the Sun Belt worked out quite favorably for Marshall, which is the No. 2 seed with an automatic bye into a semifinal.

The Herd will get another crack at the Eagles at 8:30 p.m. Sunday with a spot in the Sun Belt title game at stake.

With nine days between contests, Marshall had a chance to rest and work on fine-tuning its performance before it takes the court at Pensacola Bay Center for its third matchup this season with Georgia Southern.

The Eagles (20-15) have won four games over the last four days, defeating Old Dominion, Arkansas State, South Alabama and Coastal Carolina to reach this point. Combined with its February win in Huntington, the Eagles have been victorious in five straight.

Georgia Southern also defeated Marshall at home this season, 101-87, with the Eagles having amassed 200 points over two games against the Herd.

“Huge opportunity for us,” Herd head coach Cornelius Jackson said. “We were fortunate to get the number 2 seed, so we have a few days off to get ourselves right after the loss to Georgia Southern. It’s a two-game season for us — one possession and one game at a time.”

Jackson hasn’t noticed discouragement from his squad after losing two of its last three regular season games.

He’s more concerned about Marshall controlling the narrative in Pensacola — regardless of opponent.

“We controlled our own destiny,” Jackson said. “We still do. We gave the guys a couple of days off to regroup mentally since we don’t play until Sunday. I thought we had a good practice on Monday.

“We are upbeat and we’re locked in on winning on Sunday.”

Top seed Troy takes on Southern Miss in the first semifinal at 6 p.m. Sunday.

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3 Guys Before The Game – WVU Basketball- UCF Recap & B12 Preview (Episode 703)

MetroNews Staff — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 15:02:26 +0000

The bracket is set. It’s tournament time.

The West Virginia men’s basketball team enters the Big 12 Tournament as the No. 7 seed, earning a coveted first-round bye after closing the regular season with a win over UCF and getting a help from TCU’s victory over Cincinnati.

For a team projected to finish 11th in the preseason, the Mountaineers have positioned themselves for a meaningful week in Kansas City. Their tournament run begins Wednesday against the winner of Tuesday’s matchup between Kansas State and BYU.

In this episode, the “Guys” recap the regular-season finale against the Knights and examine what lies ahead in the conference tournament. They also preview the WVU women’s appearance in the Big 12 Championship game against TCU.

As always, Hoppy delivers his Obvious Observations, and Brad dives into the numbers with Spreads on Stats to set the statistical stage for the Mountaineers’ postseason path.

3 Guys Before The Game is sponsored by – Jan Dils Attorneys at Law, Komax Business Systems, GoMart, Lou Wendell Marine Sales, Tudor’s Biscuit World and Conley CPA Group.

Don’t forget to check out the 3 Guys website.

Never miss an episode, it’s free, subscribe below.

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2026 Big 12 Conference Tournament Men’s Basketball Schedule

MetroNews Staff — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 06:56:15 +0000

2026 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament Schedule

(Note: All games at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City; all times listed are EST)

BRACKET

First Round – Tuesday, March 10

Game 1: No. 12 Arizona State vs. No. 13 Baylor (ESPN+) – 12:30 p.m.

Game 2: No. 9 Cincinnati vs. No. 16 Utah (ESPN+) – 3 p.m.

Game 3: No. 10 BYU vs. No. 15 Kansas State (ESPN+) – 7 p.m.

Game 4: No. 11 Colorado vs. No. 14 Oklahoma State (ESPN+) – 9:30 p.m.

Second Round – Wednesday, March 11

Game 5: No. 5 Iowa State vs. Game 1 winner (ESPN/2) – 12:30 p.m.

Game 6: No. 8 UCF vs. Game 2 winner (ESPNU) – 3 p.m.

Game 7: No. 7 West Virginia vs. Game 3 winner (ESPNU) – 7 p.m.

Game 8: No. 6 TCU vs. Game 4 winner (ESPN2/U) – 9:30 p.m.

Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 12

Game 9: No. 4 Texas Tech vs. Game 5 winner (ESPN/2) – 12:30 p.m.

Game 10: No. 1 Arizona vs. Game 6 winner (ESPN/2) – 3 p.m.

Game 11: No. 2 Houston vs. Game 7 winner (ESPN/2) – 7 p.m.

Game 12: No. 3 Kansas vs. Game 8 winner (ESPN/2) – 9:30 p.m.

Semifinals – Friday, March 13

Game 13: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner (ESPN/2) – 7 p.m.

Game 14: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner (ESPN/2) – 9:30 p.m.

Final – Saturday, March 14

Game 15: Game 13 winner vs. Game 14 winner (ESPN) – 6 p.m.

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MEC Semifinals: Glenville State, Charleston women move on; West Liberty men win in double overtime to earn matchup with Falcons

MetroNews Staff — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 06:30:11 +0000

Women’s Semifinals

— By Duane Cochran, For MountainEast.org

GLENVILLE STATE 83, Fairmont State 74: Top-seeded Glenville State uncharacteristically chose not to attend its morning shootaround prior to its semifinal showdown with fifth-seeded Fairmont State Saturday in the annual Mountain East Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament at WesBanco Arena.

The decision, however, proved to be the right one. The Pioneers came out on fire connecting on seven of their first 10 shots, including their first four 3-point field goal attempts as they raced to an early 10-point lead and eventually an 83-74 victory over the Falcons.

“That’s not like us is it to not take a shootaround?” said GSU coach Emily Stoller with a smile. “This is my eighth MEC Tournament (as a player or coach) and this is the first time we’ve chosen to not take the shootaround time. It was nothing like we know we’re good enough to come in here and win and not have to shootaround. We just chose to prioritize rest and recovery over getting maybe an extra 20 minutes to shoot.

“We employ a shooter’s system. I was a shooter myself in the system and as long as I’m in this position as a coach I’m always going to preach confidence to the girls I coach. I tell them a shooter’s game is probably 90 percent confidence and 10 percent skill. I knew that as a player myself. Today, that worked out.”

The Pioneers shot 49 percent from the field for the game (28-of-57), including 52 percent from three-point range (13-of-25). Glenville was also 82.4 percent at the foul line (14-of-17) as it ran its record to 24-5 with the win and earned a second straight berth in the MEC Tournament championship game. It also avenged the Pioneers’ loss to the Falcons in the title game last season.

Glenville will face third-seeded Charleston (20-10) Sunday at 1 p.m. in the tournament championship game. The Golden Eagles eliminated seventh-seeded Frostburg State Saturday. The Pioneers and Golden Eagles split their regular-season series.

The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak in MEC Tournament games for the Falcons dating back to 2024. FSU, which won the last two league tourney titles, fell to 21-9 overall this season. Fairmont will now await word Sunday night from the NCAA on whether it did enough to qualify the annual NCAA Divison II Women’s Basketball Atlantic Regional for the third year in a row. The Falcons were ranked seventh in the region coming into the week and the three teams below them all lost. The top eight teams in the region qualify for the national tournament. Fairmont would have to earn an at-large bid.

“That’s the hardest thing about being a coach in the locker room right now,” FSU coach Stephanie Anderson said. “You don’t know how to address your team. I don’t know if I should be giving them hugs and be telling them how much I loved this season or using it as motivation for them to get back to work and get ready for a regional next week.”

After the first 20 minutes Saturday it looked as if Glenville was going to run Fairmont out of the gym. The Pioneers were hitting shots, dominating on the offensive glass and held a 16-2 advantage in second-chance points which helped lead to a 43-28 lead at the break.

“I’m proud of my kids,” Stoller said. “We took the game plan of the scout to the floor and we were able to execute it today against a high-energy team.”

CHARLESTON 79, Frostburg State 71: The University of Charleston and Glenville State have waged some epic battles in the championship game of the Mountain East Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament.

Sunday afternoon they’ll have the opportunity for another.

Third-seeded UC jumped on seventh-seeded Frostburg State early and then held off every comeback challenge from the Bobcats as they recorded a victory in the semifinals of the annual league tourney.

“I was proud of the way we fought today,” said Charleston coach Bubby Johnson. “At times they crept back in. They had already played two games here and they’re a hard-fighting team which is well coached. I was just proud of our girls for not breaking down when that happened.”

The Golden Eagles, who never trailed in the contest, improved to 20-10 with the win and will square off with top-seeded Glenville State (24-5) Sunday at 1 p.m. for the league tourney title.

UC and Glenville have met five times in the 12-year history of the MEC Tournament Championship Game. The Pioneers have claimed three of those titles, while UC has won two. The most recent meeting between the teams for the championship was in 2023 when GSU claimed a 76-59 win. Prior to that, UC won the Mountain East titles in 2022 and 2021. In 2022 the Golden Eagles were the only team to defeat Glenville, which regrouped and won the NCAA Division II National Championship that season.

Glenville has won a record five MEC Tournament crowns, while UC has two.

Saturday Charleston wasted little time taking control of its game with the Bobcats. UC raced to a 15-2 lead midway through the opening quarter only to see Frostburg patiently and methodically work its way back into contention. In the final 1:22 of the second quarter Frostburg tied the game twice at 31 and 33 before settling for a three-point deficit at the break.

“We went into the game knowing it was not going to be a cakewalk,” said Frostburg’s Julie Spinelli, who finished with 12 points and five rebounds. “We knew we had to be ready to play and give total effort. It was unfortunate the way it started for us. We were ready to play, but we just didn’t play well at the start.”

Spinelli and teammate Jenna Muha, who finished with 20 points and a game-high eight rebounds, keyed the Bobcats’ first rally as they combined for 16 of the team’s 22 second-quarter points.

Men’s Semifinals

— By Bryan Dillon, For MountainEast.org

WEST LIBERTY 105, Glenville State 100 (2OT): Top-seeded West Liberty punched its ticket to the Mountain East Conference tournament final in a classic two-overtime victory over fifth-seeded Glenville State.

West Liberty improved to 26-4 on the year and clinched its tenth appearance in the league’s championship game. To get there, the Hilltoppers had to overcome a late nine-point deficit in regulation to force overtime. Over the final 3:32 of the second half, WLU reeled off a 13-2 run to keep its season alive, including five points in five seconds to tie the score at 77-77 with 30 seconds left on the clock.

“What a basketball game,” said West Liberty head coach Michael Lamberti. “It went back and forth and back and forth … Glenville is really good. They have two of the best guards in the league between Knott and Redfern, and they put on a show for everyone.”

The Hilltoppers showed their strength on the offensive boards and with their full court press. On the offensive glass, WLU grabbed 23 offensive rebounds, which they turned into 30 second-chance points, while also forcing 28 turnovers and converting them into 33 points off turnovers.

“It didn’t look like things were going our way as things slowed down in the second half,” Lamberti stated. “Glenville ultimately took that nine-point lead, and we talk about it all of the time, the way we play, we are not out of the game. We are going to extend the game with our pressure. “[Our] guys forced some turnovers and made big shots in a timely manner, and when we forced it into overtime, we felt very confident after the comeback.

Myles Montgomery, who was a key piece to the comeback, scored a team-high 24 points, including a three-pointer with 30 seconds left to force overtime. Montgomery was one of three players who scored over 20 points for West Liberty; he was joined by Cam Williams (21) and Jamie Muldowney (20).

Asked about the shot following the game, Montgomery said, “When the play was called in the huddle, I knew where I was going and felt that I was going to get a good look. As soon as I took the shot, it felt good coming out of my hands, and I was fortunate enough to hit it.”

Jalen Knott and Prince Mosengo paced the Pioneers in scoring, each finishing with a game-high 26 points. Knott scored all of his points in regulation, but fouled out early in the first overtime. Elijah Redfern (19) and Corey Boulden (15) joined them in double-digits.

With Glenville State in serious foul trouble and four out of five starters fouled out, West Liberty was able to pull away in the second overtime period. Cam Williams scored four of the first eight points in the period gave the Pioneers the lead for good on layup with 4:02 left to play, and added two free throws with 43 seconds left to ice the game.

Corey Boulden hit the biggest shot of the night for Glenville State when he drilled a three from the left corner as time expired to tie the game at 94 and force the second overtime period. West Liberty took control of the first overtime period with an 8-0 run capped by a driving dunk from Jamie Muldowney which gave the Hilltoppers a 91-86 lead with 58 seconds remaining. Prince Mosengo and Elijah Redfern closed the Pioneers’ deficit to two points. WLU’s Montgomery hit a free throw to take a three-point lead to set up the final play of the first overtime.

Six second-half three-point field goals helped Glenville State to a nine-point lead with just over four minutes remaining in the second half as they looked to pull the upset on the top seed. Jamie Knott hit four of his seven shots from distance in the half, including back-to-back threes with 9:48 remaining to give the Pioneers their first lead of the half. Boulden would repeat Knott’s back-to-back three to stretch the GSU lead to eight points with 4:38 remaining. The Hilltoppers showed their resiliency, putting together a 13-2 stretch. Their full-court pressure forced four turnovers during the final moments of regulation.

FAIRMONT STATE 91, Concord 74: Fairmont State clinched a berth in the championship game of the Mountain East Tournament presented by The Health Plan with a victory over Concord.

For the sixth time in program history, the Falcons will play for a league title, facing a familiar opponent, the West Liberty Hilltoppers. These two have played four times previously in the championship game, including a thrilling three-overtime contest last year won by Fairmont State

“I thought it was a really good win and I am really proud of all of these guys,” said Fairmont State head coach Tim Koenig. “I am proud of our prep and our togetherness, and I am just really proud of the players and coaches. Concord is a really good team. Inside and outside a tough team, and it was a really good win.”

Fairmont State (26-4) shot 54 percent from the field and 40 percent from behind the arc while controlling the board to earn a convincing win over Concord, which shot 41.5 percent from the field and 34.2 percent from behind the arc. It was the Falcons first half defense that helped them separate. They held the Mountain Lions to 32.4 percent shooting from the field and just 18.2 percent from long range to open up a 13-point advantage at the intermission, a lead that they would not relinquish.

“I thought Miguel [Martinez] rebounded really well and made shots,” stated Koenig. “He just spreads the court coming off the bench. Joey [Brown] and Zycheus [Dobbs] were really good in the press and really good in the half-court defensively. It was a big lift for us.”

The bench unit came up big for the Falcons as Miguel Martinez (14), Joey Brown (13), and Zycheus Dobbs combined for 38 points, giving Fairmont State a 38-17 advantage in bench points for the game. Starters Drey Carter and CJ Meredith tied for a game-high 18 points to lead the scoring effort.

Boubacara Djigo recorded his 20th double-double of the season with 16 points and 18 rebounds on the night. Four Mountain Lions joined him, scoring in double-digits. Anfernee Hanna finished with 14 points, Josiah Rickards scored 13 points, and Savior McCall and Micah Young each had 10 points.

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University’s Division I crown highlighted by memorable day for Maisel family; Ripley claims first title

MetroNews Staff — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 04:58:20 +0000

( Story by David Walsh, Photo gallery by Will Wotring)

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — University’s Nico Maisel hit a trifecta in high school wrestling Saturday night.

Maisel won an individual state title, beat the opponent from the team in hot pursuit of his and made dad quite proud in the process.

Maisel defeated Parkersburg’s Colston Skeen, 8-6, for the Division I 144-pound championship. The outcome helped the Hawks stretch out their team lead to a near insurmountable amount. And dad, coach Ken Maisel, got to celebrate the moment. Quite the contrast to 2025 when Maisel lost to Stephen Myers of Parkersburg in the finals at 132.

Maisel has a photo at home of Meyers celebrating the moment and him departing dejected. Talk about motivation.

“I got beat last year and it hurt,” Maisel said. “I’ve got eight papers in the house that read ’26 state champ. Been chasing this since I was 4.”

Coach Maisel was quite proud of his son’s accomplishment.

“It lived in his head for a year,” he said of that 2025 defeat. “It’s special for him.”

University, champion in Region 1, found itself in a battle with Parkersburg for state supremacy through the first two days in the 78th West Virginia State High School Wrestling Tournament at Mountain Health Network Arena.

The Hawks gained separation from the Big Reds in the consolation round Saturday morning. Jason Walker’s win by pin for the title at 150 locked up their third straight state crown. They finished with 246 points and Parkersburg 235. The Hawks had 11 placers overall.

“Every session, we had to have it,” coach Maisel said. “To win it with the people out of the lineup is really special. This morning was big. We got more points and we had the lead to finish.”

This is the first time since 2004 two Division I teams surpassed 200 points. That year, Parkersburg won with 224 points and Parkersburg South took second with 204.

“It shows our hard work pays off,” Maisel said. “We’ll continue to work and try to do it again next year. It feels like we’re creating a culture here. You want to be a state placer.”

As for Nico Maisel, he hung on in the final seconds to prevail and finish 44-5 as a sophomore.

“The longest 40 seconds of my life,” Maisel said. “This is what I worked for.”

University and Parkersburg each had six wrestlers in the championship round. The Hawks went 3-3. Jason Walker (150) and Maximus Fortier (175) joined Maisel as state champions. Fortier, a transfer from Fairmont Senior, has signed to wrestle at Virginia Tech.

Coach Maisel had hoped to take a break, but offseason wrestling will be important.

“It’s great for everyone,” he said. “I want to be happy, but I’m already thinking how to do this next year.”

Parkersburg, which has three seniors, went 4-2 in the finals. Winners were Aiden Linko, 103; Seth Drennen, 120; Stephen Meyers, 138; and Dominic Way, 157.

“Things didn’t go as good in the consolation round,” Parkersburg coach Matt Littleton said. “It was a hard-fought state tournament. We made the state interesting.”

Ripley had an easier time of it on the way to winning in Division II for the school’s first state wrestling title.

The Vikings had four in the finals and nine placers overall. Carter Price won at 150 and Carter Neal won by pin at heavyweight to give the Vikings 191.5 points.

Lars Cooper, a transfer from Parkersburg, got the ball rolling with a 12-10 overtime win over Jackson Swingle of Keyser at 138.

“I believe in cardio,” Cooper said regarding how he had the necessary energy for the long match. “Push the pace. Outwork him. It’s special to be on that first state winner. That’s what we wanted to accomplish.”

Ripley coach Matt Smith said the extra work put in by Viking wrestlers paid off.

“The first one’s special,” said Smith, who is in his 15th season. “When I came back we had a lot of things we had not done in the past. We worked to fix things and get where we are now.”

Ripley is in year two in Division II. The drop didn’t deter Smith.

“We compete regardless,” Smith said. “We schedule the best competition possible. We got this as a group.”

Williamstown finished second with 131.5 points.

Cameron won Division III with 130 points.

Washington won the Girls Division with 124 points. Washington’s one state champ is Oliva Kershisnik at 132.

This is the last year the girls and boys compete in the state together. Next year, the WVSSAC has sanctioned girls wrestling. That means regional and state competition a week earlier at a site TBD.

Coach and Outstanding Wrestler awards were handed out at the conclusion of action.

Girls: Outstanding Wrestler, Justice Anthony, Parkersburg South. Coach of the Year, Dustin Anthony
Division III: Outstanding Wrestler, Eli Tedrow, Cameron. Coach of the Year, Chad Burge, Cameron
Division II: Outstanding Wrestler, Lars Cooper, Ripley. Coach of the Year, Matt Smith, Ripley
Division I: Outstanding Wrestler, Jesse Adams, Parkersburg South. Coach of the Year, Ken Maisel, University

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Mountaineers edge Colorado 48-47, advance to Big 12 title game

Greg Carey — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 04:06:09 +0000

No. 15 West Virginia didn’t put forth one of its better performances this season Saturday against Colorado.

The Mountaineers still managed a way to secure a spot in the Big 12 Conference Tournament title game.

A three-pointer from Gia Cooke with 32 seconds to play left the Mountaineers with a one-point lead, and WVU hung on to defeat the Buffaloes 48-47 in a semifinal at T-Mobile Center.

With the win, WVU (26-6) advances to play top seed TCU in the Big 12 final at 5 p.m. Sunday.

Cooke later missed two free throws with 2 seconds left, but Jordan Harrison poked the ball away from Colorado’s Jade Masogayo just before time expired, preventing the sixth-seeded Buffaloes (22-11) from attempting a potential winning shot.

Cooke’s late go-ahead triple came off a second-chance opportunity and allowed the Mountaineers to lead, 46-45.

On the ensuing possession, Masogayo missed a shot that WVU’s Kierra Wheeler rebounded, and Harrison made two free throws with 16 seconds left for a three-point margin.

Wheeler was then whistled for a foul as Desiree Wooten attempted a triple with 2 seconds remaining, but Wooten missed the first foul shot. She made the next two despite appearing to try to intentionally miss the third.

Both teams locked down defensively and struggled to score throughout the first half, which ended in a 17-all tie.

After turning it over six times in the first half, Colorado had five third-quarter turnovers, while Wheeler and Cooke scored five points apiece in that frame to spark a 17-point period that left the Mountaineers on top 34-30 with 10 minutes remaining.

Wooten’s trey with 6:11 left brought CU to within 37-36, and the Buffaloes gained a one-point lead when Zyanna Walker scored on their next possession.

Wheeler’s bucket inside put WVU back on top, and the Mountaineers led 43-40 when Cooke drained a jumper with 2:59 remaining,

The Buffaloes ran off the next five points, including Wooten’s go-ahead trey with 1:08 remaining, though Cooke countered 36 seconds later to give her team the lead for good.

Harrison led the Mountaineers with 15 points, while Cooke scored 14 and Wheeler added 12 to go with a team-high 10 rebounds.

Walker scored a game-high 16 points and Wotten added 14 in defeat.

Sunday will mark West Virginia’s fourth appearance in a Big 12 final. The Mountaineers are 1-2 on this stage and won in 2014.

TCU (29-4) defeated the Mountaineers in both regular season meetings.

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Kresser’s walk-off grand slam lifts WVU over Columbia in 10 innings, 9-5

Joe Brocato — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 22:37:16 +0000

GRANVILLE, W.Va. — Denied a chance to potentially be the hero in the ninth inning, WVU second baseman Brodie Kresser did not waste a second opportunity when another came in the tenth. Kresser delivered his first walk-off home run at any level of baseball with a grand slam as the Mountaineers defeated Columbia, 9-5 in 10 innings.

With two out, Kresser launched a line drive home run just beyond the wall to the left of the bullpen in left field, touching off a raucous celebration in front of a crowd of 2,885 fans at Wagener Field/Kendrick Family Ballpark.

“I kind of blacked out there. But I knew it had a chance,” Kresser said.

“It was a barnburner today. Things weren’t going our way and then we’d get things going. They answered right back. To do it in extras in the tenth inning was pretty special.”

“When you accomplish certain things, you get to carry yourself differently. You get to walk tall or you get to have that confidence,” said WVU head coach Steve Sabins. “Kresser has been swinging the bat well. But he hadn’t driven the ball like that in a while. I think that was really important for him and our team. You saw jubilation out of that team today.”

With the game tied at 5 in the bottom of the ninth, Kresser stepped to the plate with a runner on first. He hit a sharp ground ball down the left field line that could have produced the winning run but would have at least put two runners in scoring position for West Virginia. However, Sabins called for time just before the pitch was thrown.

“That was unbelievable. We have PitchCom, which is how you control the signs. I gave Kresser a bunt the first pitch. I gave Kresser a bunt on the second pitch. But the PitchCom has different modes. Essentially, the mode had flipped over and I pushed ‘steal’. We did not want to steal in the biggest moment in that situation. So I called timeout pretty early. Unfortunately, that was not granted in a hurry,” Sabins said.

“It is poetic the fact that Kresser comes up later that game with the bases loaded and hits a homer. He is screaming in my face to not feel sorry about the timeout call. He is just a team-oriented guy and knows how this thing flows.”

The game-winning opportunities may not have been possible without a pair of brilliant defensive plays from left fielder Matthew Graveline. With the game tied at 5 in the top of the ninth, Graveline, who shares time at catcher with Gavin Kelly, robbed Owen Estabrook of a potential two-run home run.

“The wind was blowing out pretty hard today,” Graveline said. “I didn’t get much action in the first few innings. I just stayed ready. I was playing pretty deep just in case something like that happened. The ball was traveling pretty well today. I wasn’t too far from the fence. Once I got to the fence, I kind of just jumped up and caught it.”

An inning earlier, Graveline cut down the potential go-ahead run for Columbia. A Jackson Brewer double scored Hunter Snyder to tie the game. However, Graveline’s throw home ended the inning.

“I knew I had to make a really good relay to Matt Ineich,” Graveline said. “It was a good throw and he also made a really good throw to home. [Gavin] Kelly made a really good tag.”

In addition to Graveline’s defensive heroics, first baseman Armani Guzman made a pair of sterling defensive plays in the early innings. Guzman’s first collegiate start at first base came last week in WVU’s home opener against Ohio.

“Guzman was incredible. You guys are learning as I am too because he has played a lot of infield. But you don’t necessarily know what you are going to see when the lights turn on and you’ve got a different glove. He was exceptional.”

WVU starting pitcher Chansen Cole produced five scoreless innings before running into trouble in the sixth. A four-run rally from the Lions (2-6) gave them a 4-3 lead.

“He kept them off balance. He did what he does. He got to 87 pitches today. It looked like going out for the sixth, it didn’t look like the same stuff,” Sabins said of Cole.

“But if you give the Mountaineers five innings, five hits, three runs, we are going to be in every ballgame.”

David Perez (2.1 IP) earned the win in relief for West Virginia.

“We just played really clean defense that allowed us to stay in the game the entire day,” Sabins said. It wasn’t easy, that’s for damn sure. Nothing has been easy for a couple days. It felt like our team needed that. They had been working for that. Maybe they were pressing a little bit. But man, they battled.”

Brewer had two hits and drove in two runs for the Lions. Kelly and Sean Smith each collected three hits for WVU (9-3).

The rubber game of the series will be played Sunday at 12:30 p.m.

Steve Sabins on the value of an extra-inning, walk-off victory to halt a 2-game losing streak: pic.twitter.com/IQeuD6Rn7I

— Joe Brocato (@joebrowvm) March 7, 2026

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No. 15 WVU pulls away late in 67-54 victory against Arizona State

MetroNews — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 05:44:15 +0000

— From WVU Athletic Communications

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — No. 15 West Virginia used an 11-0 run in the late stages of the fourth quarter to get past Arizona State, 67-54, in the quarterfinal of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament on Friday night at T-Mobile Center.

Sydney Shaw led all players with 19 points, knocking down five 3-pointers to tie the program’s single game record at the tournament. Gia Cooke finished with 16 points, while Harrison added 10. Harrison also finished with five assists and three steals and Kierra Wheeler filled the stat sheet with eight rebounds, seven points, two assists and three steals.

After trailing 17–11 late in the first quarter, the Mountaineers closed the frame on a 7–0 run, taking an 18–17 lead on Celia Riviere’s layup with 32 seconds left.

The game’s largest swing came early in the second quarter. Shaw hit a 3-pointer on the opening possession, sparking a 17–4 run that included two more Shaw threes, a transition layup and a 3-pointer from Riley Makalusky. West Virginia built a 34–21 advantage with 6:05 remaining in the half.

Arizona State cut the lead to 39–30 at halftime, then closed within 40–36 midway through the third. But WVU answered with an 8–2 push, capped by back-to-back baskets from Jordan Harrison and a three-point play from Kierra Wheeler to restore a 48–40 margin entering the final minute of the quarter.

The Sun Devils mounted one final charge in the fourth, pulling within 52–50 on a Marley Washenitz 3-pointer at the 8:05 mark. West Virginia countered immediately. Shaw drilled a 3-pointer with 7:35 left, igniting an 11–0 run that featured another Shaw triple and a transition three from Cooke. The burst stretched the lead to 63–50 with 2:37 to play, effectively sealing the win.

Washenitz, a Fairmont native, made four of the Sun Devils’ five threes and led her squad with 14 points.

The Mountaineers (25-6) have reached the 25-win mark for the third straight season. It marks the first time in program history to reach the mark in three consecutive seasons.

West Virginia plays again Saturday against No. 6 Colorado at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Kansas State and top seed TCU meet in the first semifinal at 4 p.m.

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MEC Men’s Quarterfinals: Fairmont State, Glenville State win close contests; Concord and West Liberty also advance

Greg Carey — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 05:35:28 +0000

— By Duane Cochran & Bryan Dillon, For Mountain East.org

FAIRMONT STATE 80, Frostburg State 77: Basketball fans were treated to a gem Friday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the annual men’s Mountain East Conference Tournament at WesBanco Arena.

Second-seeded Fairmont State rallied from a nine-point deficit in the game’s final 10:43 to record a thrilling victory over seventh-seeded Frostburg State in a contest which wasn’t decided until the final two seconds.

The win, Fairmont’s fifth in a row and its 16th in its last 17 games, improved the Falcons to 25-4 and puts them in Saturday’s 8:30 p.m. semifinals against sixth-seeded Concord (15-14).

Frostburg, meanwhile, finished its season at 15-15. It marks the first time since 2011-12 that the Bobcats didn’t have a losing season.

Trailing 79-77 with 11.4 seconds to play Frostburg was forced to foul Fairmont’s top free throw shooter Tyheil Peterson. Peterson, an 84 percent foul shooter who had just drained a pair of free throws, couldn’t get the front end of his one-and-one to fall and the Bobcats cleared the rebound, got the ball into the front court and called timeout with five seconds to play.

On the ensuing possession, Frostburg got the ball into the hands of MEC Player of the Year Trey Simmons, who had 22 points, including 17 in the second half. The speedy Simmons drove on Fairmont’s Zycheus Dobbs and attempted a scooping layup with two seconds remaining. Dobbs, however, held his ground and the shot attempt fell short, hitting the side of the rim and was rebounded by the Falcons’ Joey Brown who was fouled with 0.7 seconds left to play.

Brown then hit the front end of his one-and-one but was off the mark on his second and time ran out as Frostburg’s Kyle Whippen cleared the rebound and launched a full court shot which was wide left of the backboard.

“I got my number called in the huddle and once I got it I knew I had to go right to the rim and do what I’ve been doing all season,” Simmons said. “As soon as I got to the rim it was just a little bit short and that was it.”

Fairmont had recorded a pair of double-digit wins over the Bobcats during the regular season, but knew Friday that Frostburg would be a tough out.

“Frostburg State played really, really well today,” Fairmont coach Tim Koenig said. “They gave a really good team effort.

“I thought we played pretty well too, but didn’t make some shots that normally go in for us. I thought our resiliency, though, was fantastic today. We didn’t panic when shots weren’t falling and things weren’t going our way. That was a key. That was a really good win for us. Any win in a tournament is a good one.”

CONCORD 96, Wheeling 71: Boubacar Djigo may have won the Mountain East Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year this season, but Friday afternoon, it was his offense which took center stage and helped pave the way for sixth-seeded Concord to roll to an impressive victory over third-seeded Wheeling in the quarterfinals of the MEC Men’s Basketball Tournament.

The athletic 6-8 junior forward grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds and scored a game-high 24 points, 12 of which came off an assortment of high-flying, crowd-pleasing dunks as the Mountain Lions raced to a 10-point lead less than nine minutes into the game and never looked back.

“I’d say offensively I did pretty well today,” said Djigo with a slight laugh. “My teammates trust me. They’re not afraid to throw me the ball or throw me the occasional alley-oop pass because they know usually I can go up and get it.

“Today, yeah it was pretty fun. As a team we got things going and just kinda played off each other.”

Wheeling coach Chris Richardson said Friday Djigo was, without question, the best player on the floor.

“Djigo was incredible today,” Richardson said. “I thought he was dominant on both ends. He was the best player on the floor today no doubt.”

The win improved Concord to 15-14 on the year and puts the Mountain Lions in Saturday’s semifinals against second-seeded Fairmont State at 8:30 p.m. Concord and FSU split their regular-season series.

Djigo wasn’t the only effective weapon on offense Concord employed Friday. Savier McCall chipped in 15 points, Anfernee Hanna and Brendan Hoffman added 11 apiece and Josiah Rickards scored 12 — all of which came in the first eight minutes of the contest as the Mountain Lions gained firm control.

“This game was really personal for us,” Rickards said. “The last time we played them we played them at home and they got the best of us that time. Today we were really locked in and focused and it showed in our play with the way we started and finished.”

WEST LIBERTY 84, Davis & Elkins 74: Top-seeded West Liberty flexed its muscle in the lane and on the boards to defeat eighth-seeded Davis & Elkins in the quarterfinals of the Mountain East Conference tournament presented by The Health Plan.

After averaging 106 points per game in the two regular-season meetings against the Senators, West Liberty (25-4) had to rely more on its defense and rebounding in this matchup. With the victory, the Hilltoppers earned their 13th appearance in the semifinals of the MEC tournament all-time, having appeared in the semifinals every year in the league tournament’s history.

Offensive rebounding and turnovers played the pivotal role on the evening for West Liberty as they forced Davis & Elkins into 25 turnovers, which were converted into 26 points. The Hilltoppers also pulled down 26 offensive rebounds, which resulted in 24 second-chance points.

“That was a classic March Madness game,” asserted West Liberty Head Coach Michael Lamberti. “ It was physical as can be, and it went back and forth with a lot of lead changes. I thought we got off a good start … We executed on the offensive end late in the second half and forced a couple of turnovers with our press and finally made some free throws down the stretch to hold on to for the win.”

Davis & Elkins (10-20) finished the game with better shooting numbers than West Liberty. The Senators shot 42.6 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from three, and 82.6 percent from the foul line, while the Hilltoppers shot 37.5 percent from the field, 20 percent from three, and 63.6 percent from the foul line. WLU was able to overcome the shooting disparity by finishing the game with 26 more shots than D&E.

West Liberty placed four players in double-digits: Jamie Muldowney (19), Myles Montgomery (15), Peter Lattos (14), and Hayden Abdullah (11). Muldowney and Lattos led the team with 9 rebounds each. Davis & Elkins also had four players score over ten points. Matthew Gray (18), Nnadozie Okoroji (16), Vegas Evans (12), and Darrius Roach (10).

GLENVILLE STATE 79, Charleston 76: A wire-to-wire effort led fifth-seeded Glenville State past fourth-seeded Charleston in the quarterfinals of the Mountain East Conference tournament presented by The Health Plan Friday evening at WesBanco Arena.

Glenville State (18-12) raced out to an early lead and never trailed en route to its 5th semifinal appearance in the MEC tournament. The Pioneers’ defense held Charleston (19-9) to just 23 points in the first half, their lowest of the season, on 8-of-30 shooting and a field goal percentage of 26.7.

“The first half was probably the best defensive effort we had this year,” said Glenville State head coach Bob Bolen. “We knew that they were the number one three-point percentage shooting team in the country, and I thought our defense did a good job holding them. I think a lot of it came down to our defensive pressure … I thought it was a tremendous job defensively.”

Each member of the starting lineup for Glenville State finished with double-digits offensively and accounted for all of the scoring output for the Pioneers. Elijah Redfern led the way with a team-high 23 points, while Don Colon-Lewis added 18 points. Prince Mosengo pitched in with a 12-point and 11-rebound double-double.

Charleston’s Braden Chapman led all scorers with 27 points. Thomas Hailey (15) and Ben Nicol (11) joined Chapman in double-digits. Matthew Shelton led the Golden Eagles in rebounding with nine rebounds on the night.

While Charleston looked to find its shooting stroke, Glenville State jumped out to a 19-6 lead with 12:45 remaining in the half following a 10-0 scoring run led by Redfern and Mosengo. After a 12-1 stretch, the Pioneers held their largest lead of the half at 33-13 with 4:31 to play in the half.

Charleston set up the opportunity to attempt a comeback in the second half by closing out the first half on an 8-0 run thanks to a three from Chapman and a driving layup and three from Nicol to close the deficit to 36-23 at the break. The 8-0 run helped break a stretch of 11 missed shots for the Golden Eagles.

The second half started with the teams trading the first six baskets, before Glenville State took advantage of an 8-0 spurt to grab their largest lead of the game at 21 points, 51-30. From that point, Charleston started to chip away at the lead, thanks in part to a pair of 8-0 runs. The second of which cut the Pioneers’ lead to 60-54 following a three-pointer from Matthew Shelton.

The Golden Eagles continued to cut into the lead, getting it as low as four points when Braden Chapman hit a three with 12 seconds remaining. Two free throws extended the lead for Glenville State back to six points, which limited the impact of Charleston’s three-pointer at the final horn.

Glenville State finished the game shooting 44.1 percent from the field on 26-of-59 shooting and 39.3 percent from long distance. Charleston recovered from their difficult shooting first half, by shooting 60.7 percent from the field and 56.3 percent from three in the second half. The Golden Eagles finished the game 43.1 percent from the field. The foul line was a big difference, with the GSU shooting 80 percent from the foul line, while UC shot only 56.5 at the charity stripe on 23 attempts.

“I was proud of our guys for fighting until the end, it says a lot about our guys,” stated Charleston head coach James Long. “It was not our night offensively in every regard; at the rim, from three, and free throws. I thought our team fought so I am really proud of them … I think the big number is 10 missed free throws and 13 offensive rebounds for them.”

The post MEC Men’s Quarterfinals: Fairmont State, Glenville State win close contests; Concord and West Liberty also advance appeared first on WV MetroNews.

Parkersburg outlasts Buckhannon-Upshur 71-69 in double overtime

Greg Carey — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 05:12:28 +0000

BUCKHANNON, W.Va. — Parkersburg didn’t have the regular season it aspired to, winning only six times over 22 games.

With a clean slate to start the postseason, the Big Reds hope to come much closer to maximizing their potential.

Friday’s Class AAAA South Region contest at Buckhannon-Upshur had a little bit of everything and a lot of extra basketball, but the Big Reds dug deep and made the necessary plays to prevail in double overtime, 71-69.

“Our mindset tonight was we have nothing to lose,” PHS head coach Phil Wilson said. “Either you leave it all on this court and pas out on this court trying to win or go home. Tonight, they decided they wanted to pass out on that floor. We went to double overtime, played seven players and two of them fouled out. I can’t complain. Everyone that stepped on the floor did a great job.”

The win sends the No. 9 seed Big Reds (7-16) to the next round where a matchup at George Washington awaits Wednesday with a state tournament spot at stake.

The Big Reds gained a 56-55 lead late in regulation on a Chandler Jackson three-pointer, but the eighth-seeded Buccaneers (14-9) went on top moments later courtesy of Brody McDaniels’ layup.

Shortly after, Jerin Westfall scored in transition and was fouled, but missed the free throw, leaving the home team with a three-point advantage.

Jackson missed two free throws on the Big Reds’ ensuing possession, but the battle for the rebound led to a jump ball, with the possession arrow in favor of Parkersburg.

The Big Reds made the most of the extra opportunity in the form of a Quinten Wilson triple in front of his team’s bench with 7 seconds to play. Buckhannon-Upshur’s Xavier Robinette missed on the other end, sending the game to overtime knotted at 59.

“I saw Chandler fall, then I saw the ball and grabbed it,” Quinten Wilson said. “I knew I needed to shoot it, so I put it up and made it.”

End regulation: Parkersburg 59, Buckhannon-Upshur 59

Big Reds’ Wilson hit this 3 with 7 seconds left to tie the game. #wvprepbb pic.twitter.com/Wz4E4u5b2r

— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) March 7, 2026

A slow-paced first extra session was scoreless for more than 3 minutes, with the Big Reds opting for longer possessions, while the Buccaneers struggled with turnovers. Jackson got to the basket and scored with 22 seconds left to give PHS a two-point advantage, but McDaniels answered with a jumper that sent the game into a second overtime.

“We put it all out there. We knew it was going to be a battle and it was nothing short of that,” Bucs’ head coach Jason Westfall said.

End OT1: Parkersburg 61, Buckhannon-Upshur 61

McDaniels tied it on this jumper with 7 seconds left. It was ruled a 2-pointer. #wvprepbb pic.twitter.com/Y6BuxuDwez

— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) March 7, 2026

Westfall opened the scoring in overtime with a floater, before Wilson countered with a trey. However, Wilson was disqualified for his fifth personal foul with 2:38 to play, one that sent Westfall to the free-throw line, where he sank both attempts.

B-U still led by one before Sutton Stanley scored on a drive to the basket to leave Parkersburg in front, 68-67.

Parkersburg produced a timely stop, then split two trips to the free-throw line following an intentional foul, allowing the visitors to lead by three.

Westfall then scored on a second-chance opportunity and was fouled, though he missed the free throw that resulted in an offensive rebound, allowing the Bucs to maintain possession with a one-point deficit and 16 seconds to play.

Out of a timeout, McDaniels misfired on a jumper, and Jackson made 1-of-2 free throws with 4.6 seconds left to leave the Big Reds with a two-point lead.

Jimmie Green’s three for the win was off the mark as time expired, allowing Parkersburg to prevail after it lost to the Buccaneers by 14 points in a regular season meeting.

“This is regionals and everyone is 0-0,” coach Wilson said. “No team has won anything right now. We’ve learned that with some of the games over the course of this week. Some teams that were expected to win didn’t win. I told the boys you have nothing to lose tonight. Go out there and leave it all on the floor because we don’t want to go home.”

FINAL: Parkersburg 71, Buckhannon-Upshur 69 (2 OT)

Big Reds (7-16) advance to play at GW. Wilson led PHS with 26 points before fouling out. Jackson scored 14.

Bucs (14-9) got 31 points and 15 rebounds from Westfall. He fouled out in final seconds of second OT.#wvprepbb pic.twitter.com/bCtPYIFmuH

— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) March 7, 2026

Buckhannon-Upshur got nine first-quarter points from Westfall and made 8-of-13 shots to lead 19-11, but the Bucs had eight second-quarter turnovers, while Big Reds’ guard Jaxon Thomas accounted for 10 of his team’s first 16 points to help them stay within striking distance.

Wilson’s corner three had the Big Reds on top 31-28, before Westfall connected from behind the arc with time winding down in the half to send the teams to the locker room knotted at 31.

At halftime, B-U had 11 turnovers to Parkersburg’s three.

“Last time we played here, we thought we saw something when we pressured them a little bit,” coach Wilson said. “We decided to jump on them early to see what happens and it worked in our favor. They didn’t like the pressure at all, and it didn’t matter which pressure set we went into, it seemed to give them problems.”

B-U led 44-39 in the third, before Wilson made another trey. Wilson also beat the third-quarter buzzer with a basket to pull his team even at 46.

Wilson led PHS with 26 points and made half of his 20 field-goal attempts. Jackson scored 14 and Thomas totaled 10 in the win.

“The whole season, we could’ve done more if we had the team chemistry,” Quinten Wilson said. “Today, we put it all together. Everybody to score and everybody got to contribute. That was the best part.”

The Big Reds overcame making 7-of-18 free throws, while the Bucs largely failed to capitalize from the charity stripe as well, finishing 13 for 23.

Westfall had another standout showing in a season full of them. He led all players with 31 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists.

McDaniels and Robinette scored 14 apiece in defeat.

B-U had a 42-20 rebounding advantage, but 24 of the game’s 31 turnovers.

“There were some mental errors, but a tip here and getting sped up made a huge impact,” coach Westfall said. “We had turnovers and it got us out of sorts. That was a good move by their coach. We had just dealt with Morgantown’s pressure, so I felt like we could handle it. I just didn’t feel like we made good decisions. The bench gets short and minutes start to weight on you a bit, and sometimes you make poor decisions in those moments. They beat us fair and square and it’s too bad somebody had to lose, but it was a battle. I don’t begrudge our effort, but we could’ve made some better plays.“

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Mountaineers sweep regular season series with UCF, 77-62

Joe Brocato — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 04:53:24 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Three days removed from perhaps their most disappointing loss of the season at Kansas State, West Virginia’s all-senior starting lineup authored one more memory on their home court as the Mountaineers pulled away from UCF, 77-62 on Senior Night at Hope Coliseum.

Mar 6, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Ross Hodge celebrates with his players after defeating the UCF Knights at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images

After defeating the Knights in Orlando three weeks earlier, the Mountaineers secured a regular season sweep of UCF, a team that looks to be on the good side of the NCAA Tournament bubble.

With the win, West Virginia (18-13, 9-9 Big 12) secured an opening-round bye in the Big 12 Conference Tournament. WVU will open play in Kansas City on Wednesday. If Cincinnati loses to TCU Saturday, West Virginia will be the No. 7 seed. If the Bearcats win in Fort Worth, WVU will be the No. 8 seed. West Virginia’s Big 12 Tournament seeding and potential opponents will be finalized Saturday night following the last seven games on the regular season schedule.

“Now it is 0-0 for everybody. And we’re just trying to get as many wins as we can,” said WVU senior forward Brenen Lorient.

WVU’s senior class of six players combined for 74 of WVU’s 77 points.

“It has been, obviously a bumpy road as all things are in life. It is a special moment,” said WVU senior guard Honor Huff. “I have been in college for a minute and there is not a better feeling than what you do after a win here, singing and being able to evoke yourself in emotion in a positive way.”

“It was a very emotional day for us after the ceremony and whatnot,” said WVU senior forward Chance Moore. “We just tried to get a win for the fans, get a win for the guys and execute. Just go out swinging as best as possible.”

“Be able to hear Country Roads with their families in attendance, it will be a moment they will never forget as a family unit for the rest of their lives,” said WVU head coach Ross Hodge.

Slow starts have cost the Mountaineers in many of their losses. On this night, West Virginia built a double-digit first-half lead (22-10) on the strength of a 9-0 run. WVU led 32-23 at intermission.

Mar 6, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Honor Huff (3) shoots a three-point shot during the second half against the UCF Knights at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images

“Jasper [Floyd] got us off to a good start and finished some baskets around and close to the basket. Trey [Eaglestaff] made a tough three,” Hodge said.

UCF pulled within four points (44-40) midway through the second half before the Mountaineers rebuilt their sizable lead with a 15-4 run and they kept a double-digit advantage the rest of the way. West Virginia turned the ball over just seven times and UCF was held to four fast break points.

“They are so explosive in transition and [Themus] Fulks is such a good passer,” Hodge said. “They have such good athleticism, if you are going to give them live-ball turnovers, they are going to convert.

“I thought we just did a little bit of a better job condensing the open spaces. Harlan [Obioha] did a really good job with his ball screen coverage and he made them play in tighter space.”

Huff led the Mountaineers with 24 points. He went a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line.

“He has grown so much as a player, he has seen just about every defense you can imagine,” Hodge said. “He has been the focal point of every team’s defense that we have played.”

The Mountaineers made 21 of their 25 attempts from the charity stripe.

Mar 6, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Honor Huff (3) celebrates late in the second half with the fans against the UCF Knights at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images

“If Honor is shooting 10 of your 20 free throws, you are probably going to have a good night at the foul stripe,” Hodge said.

Lorient scored 14 points while Moore chipped in with 13 and Floyd added 10.

UCF (20-10, 9-9 Big 12) was led by Fulks and Riley Kugel. Both players scored 16 points.

West Virginia has their work cut out for them at the Big 12 Tournament, likely facing one of the league’s top two teams in the quarterfinal round if they win their opening game on Wednesday.

“If you have hopes of winning a tournament, you want to play the fewest amount of days possible,” Hodge said.

“Yeah, you are fighting to keep playing games, but if you really care about each other, you are fighting for one more film session, one more plane ride, one more bus trip.

“We put this team together with the belief that we could win games in March and make a run in the NCAA Tournament. I still believe that this team can do that.”

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University, Parkersburg involved in tight Division I race ahead of final day; Ripley maintains lead in Division II

MetroNews Staff — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 03:59:50 +0000

— By David Walsh

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Division I in the 78th West Virginia State High School Wrestling Tournament is going down to the wire.

In the two-team race, defending champion University and 2025-runner-up Parkersburg created little separation Friday in the semifinal round at Mountain Health Network Arena. That means a higher probability it’s undecided until the final match Saturday night, unlike past years when a champion had all but been determined.

Parkersburg ruled in the lower weights and opened a near 30-point lead. Then came the heavier weight classes and the Hawks ruled there, and thus moved to first with 199.5 points. The Big Reds have 193.

“Lost some we shouldn’t, others we came back,” University coach Ken Maisel said. “Kids have to do a good job tomorrow.”

University, the Region 1 winner, and Parkersburg, champ in Region 4, each have six wrestlers in Saturday’s finals.

For the Hawks, they are: Jacob Hensley, 126; Timofey Husk, 138 Nico Maisel, 144 Jason Walker, 150; Max Vitale, 157; and Maximus Fortier, 175.

“We knew it’d be close,” Maisel said. “It’ll be interesting tomorrow. I tell the guys keep it classy.”

Parkersburg’s finalists are: Aiden Linko, 106; Austin Carrodus, 113; Seth Drennen, 120; Stephen Myers, 138; Colsten Skeen, 144; and Dominic Way, 157.

“We knew coming in it would be a war,” Big Reds coach Matt Littleton said. “We had a plan. Some executed the plan, the others fell short and have to change. It’s far from over. Got six in the finals. The others have to come back strong tomorrow.”

Parkersburg has 21 state titles to its credit, but its last one was in 2008.

In Division II, Ripley took control and leads with 149.5 points. The Vikings have four wrestlers going for titles Saturday in Carter Neal, heavyweight; Lars Cooper, 138; Terry Osborne, 120; and Carter Price, 150. Cooper is a transfer from Parkersburg.

“We wrestle and have things happen you don’t expect and some surprises,” Vikings’ coach Matt Smith said. “Consistency wise, we’ve been there. Kids have worked hard. This is when you want to peak. Got a ways to go. Each guy (finalist) has a tough match. The guys in the morning have to come to wrestle.”

Herbert Hoover is second with 103.5.

Cameron leads Division 3 with 103 points.

The tournament concludes Saturday and starts with the girls state action at 8 a.m..

The boys matches begin at 10:30 a.m. Championship finals are at 6:30.

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Offense tough to muster for Marshall in 73-58 loss to South Alabama

MetroNews Staff — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 03:39:07 +0000

— By David Walsh

Marshall went scoreless at the wrong time.

The Thundering Herd missed its final six shots and did not score over the final 4:14 of a 73-58 loss to South Alabama in the fourth round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Fla.

This is the first time the Jaguars have beaten the Herd. They had been 0-4 until Friday.

“That is never how you want the season to finish,” Herd coach Juli Fulks said. “Proud of the effort over a 31-game season. We had a lot of really good moments this year. A lot to be proud of. We packed the gym (Cam Henderson Center) and had a lot of fans here today. We have six seniors and it’s a shame you can’t go out on your own terms. You’re incredibly elated or just devastated. It’s one or the other. This segment of your life is over. We fought through a lot. Hats off to South Alabama. They played a really good game and hit a lot of shots.”

A year ago, Marshall played its first tournament game on Tuesday and won four before bowing out. South Alabama, a No. 12 seed, is following a similar path. The Jaguars meet No. 4 James Madison in a quarterfinal Saturday.

Marshall finishes 23-9. The 23 wins are the third-most in a single season in Herd women’s basketball history. The team also more than doubled its regular-season win total from last year, finishing plus-12 in that category in Fulks’ second season in charge.

After trailing by 12 at halftime, the Herd twice got within six points in the fourth period, but could not muster the offense to make it interesting.

The Jaguars hit 18-of-23 free throws in the second half.

“We’re not supposed to be here, that’s what everybody else said,” South Alabama coach Yolisha Jackson said. “It shows we can go five, six, seven days. I’m excited to coach one more day. See how we compete. Runs can go either way. Our way we want to keep going.”

In the fourth period, Marshall cut the deficit to 58-52. South Alabama took over from there. The Jaguars had just four threes, but made 23-of-46 shots and 23-of-30 free throws.

“They’re on the same track as us last year,” Fulks said. “You get a game under your belt and normalize things a bit. We had fresher legs. We were not able to execute when we needed to. Gave them extra possessions and too much inside.”

The Herd sank just 22-of-71 shots, including 8 of 37 from three. Marshall made 6-of-12 free throws.

Chrysta Narcisse led the Jaguars with 18 points and made 8-of-8 free throws. Renaltha Marc scored 17 and Daniela Gonzalez added 12.

Marshall’s Timaya Lewis-Eutsey, the Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year, totaled 18 points, eight steals and six rebounds. The steal total is one off the tournament record of nine, set by Western Kentucky’s Dawn Warner in 1996.

Logan native Peyton Ilderton made four threes on the way to 14 points. Timberlynn Yeast closed with 10. Meredith Maier was held scoreless.

“South Alabama is like us last year,” Marshall’s Blessing King said. “They had nothing to lose. We’re on fresh legs, but not locked in.”

“They’re a pretty deep team,” Fulks said. “We held them to four threes. We didn’t want to foul as much. The (foul) line kept them in the game. We had 71 (shots) and only 58 points.”

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Columbia holds off late WVU rally to take the series opener, 7-4

Joe Brocato — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 00:07:24 +0000

GRANVILLE, W.Va. — West Virginia was held to a season-low hit total and they could not erase a sizable deficit in a 7-4 series-opening loss to Columbia. The Mountaineers fell behind 6-0 in the fifth inning and saw their comeback bid fizzle out in the late innings.

“Guys played tough. A little bit of press today, I think. I think they came out wanting to play. They were excited to play,” said WVU head coach Steve Sabins. “I thought when we got down early, maybe there was a little bit of press, offensively.”

In his fourth start of the season, WVU pitcher Dawson Montesa allowed a season-high five runs in four innings of work. Columbia (2-5) sent nine batters to the plate in a five-run second inning.

“His fastball today had cut on it. So the velocity was good — 93-96 like it traditionally is. But it was really cutting on him. So that affected his curveball and his splitter. His cutter was different today. Everything was kind of taking off glove side. So he just didn’t have feel.”

Montesa’s counterpart, Alex Sotiropoulos pitched into the sixth inning, allowing three runs [one earned] and three hits.

“Good pitcher, really good. He’s a sophomore and a big-bodied dude at 94-96 [mph]. He’s got plus stuff. He was out of the zone a little bit. But he always kind of got back in the zone.”

WVU’s bullpen kept the game in range by allowing two runs in five innings. Ian Korn allowed one run in three innings.

“He was crisp. It was his longest outing. It was his least amount of traffic. He had three strikeouts in three innings. I thought he took a big step forward today.”

Reese Bassinger allowed an insurance run in the ninth in a two-inning stint.

West Virginia (8-3) chipped away at their six-run deficit with two runs in the fifth and runs in the sixth and seventh innings. Their runs came on a groundout, a throwing error, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly. The top four hitters in WVU’s lineup combined to go 2-for-15.

“We had one hit [each] between [Gavin] Kelly and [Matt] Ineich today. That’s unusual for us. Those guys have really been fire starters for our offense. We just didn’t quite get in rhythm. We ended up having five hits and four walks. So there was just not a ton of traffic and not a ton of pressure. I thought we made it fairly comfortable for them.”

West Virginia had three runners erased on the base paths, one on an attempted steal of home and another on a double steal.

“Probably our biggest mistake of the game was getting thrown out at second with the trail runner and then being back-picked on a dirt ball read. In those situations, you can’t afford an out, because the outs are precious, especially when you are trailing at that point. Baserunning was probably the worst part of our game today that we need to clean up and do better at.”

Jimmy Chadwell and Cole Fellows each had two hits for Columbia, as the Lions outhit WVU 10-5. Payton Soske pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save.

Game two of the series is set for noon Saturday and the series finale will be at 12:30 Sunday.

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Week 8 Power Rankings: GW, Chapmanville, Wheeling Central and Tug Valley close regular season on top

MetroNews Staff — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 18:29:29 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The MetroNews high school boys basketball poll is voted upon weekly by a panel of 10 radio broadcasters and sports writers across West Virginia. The rankings include total points and first-place votes in parenthesis.

Week 8 rankings reflect all results up through the completion of the regular season.

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2026 WVSSAC Girls Basketball State Tournament schedule

Joe Brocato — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 05:18:26 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — 32 teams have qualified for the WVSSAC Girls Basketball State Tournament. The five-day, 28-game event will begin on March 10 at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center. Radio broadcasts of all state tournament games will air on the MetroNews Radio Network and will be streamed at wvmetronews.com. MetroNews will also produce HD video broadcasts of the four championship games.

Tuesday, March 10

Game 1 – (Class A Quarterfinal): No. 3 St. Marys vs. No. 6 Pocahontas County, 9:30 a.m.

Game 2 – (Class AA Quarterfinal): No. 4 Charleston Catholic vs. No. 5 Wyoming East, 11:15 a.m.

Game 3 – (Class A Quarterfinal): No. 2 Tug Valley vs. No. 7 Greater Beckley Christian, 1 p.m.

Game 4 – (Class A Quarterfinal): No. 1 Gilmer County vs. No. 8 Webster County, 5:30 p.m.

Game 5 – (Class AA Quarterfinal): No. 1 James Monroe vs. No. 8 Lincoln, 7:15 p.m.

Game 6 – (Class A Quarterfinal): No. 4 Tucker County vs. No. 5 Ritchie County, 9 p.m.

Wednesday, March 11

Game 7 – (Class AAA Quarterfinal): No. 3 Nitro vs. No. 6 Princeton, 9:30 a.m.

Game 8 – (Class AA Quarterfinal): No. 3 Wheeling Central Catholic vs. No. 6 Wayne, 11:15 a.m.

Game 9 – (Class AAA Quarterfinal): No. 2 Spring Valley at No. 7 East Fairmont, 1 p.m.

Game 10 – (Class AAA Quarterfinal): No. 1 Greenbrier East vs. No. 8 Hampshire, 5:30 p.m.

Game 11 – (Class AA Quarterfinal): No. 2 Williamstown vs. No. 7 Philip Barbour, 7:15 p.m.

Game 12 – (Class AAA Quarterfinal): No. 4 John Marshall vs. No. 5 Keyser, 9 p.m.

Thursday, March 12

Game 13 – (Class AAAA Quarterfinal): No. 3 Morgantown vs. No. 6 Cabell Midland, 9:30 a.m.

Game 14 – (Class A Semifinal): Game 1 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 11:15 a.m.

Game 15 – (Class AAAA Quarterfinal): No. 2 Parkersburg vs. No. 7 University, 1 p.m.

Game 16 – (Class AAAA Quarterfinal): No. 1 George Washington vs. No. 8 Washington, 5:30 p.m.

Game 17 – (Class A Semifinal): Game 4 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7;15 p.m.

Game 18 – (Class AAAA Quarterfinal): No. 4 Martinsburg vs. No. 5 Parkersburg South, 9 p.m.

Friday, March 13

Game 19 – (Class AA Semifinal): Game 8 winner vs, Game 11 winner, 9:30 a.m.

Game 20 – (Class AAA Semifinal): Game 10 winner vs. Game 12 winner, 11:15 a.m.

Game 21 – (Class AA Semifinal): Game 2 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 1 p.m.

Game 22 – (Class AAAA Semifinal): Game 16 winner vs. Game 18 winner, 1 p.m.

Game 23 – (Class AAA Semifinal): Game 7 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 7:15 p.m.

Game 24 – (Class AAAA Semifinal): Game 13 winner vs. Game 15 winner, 9 p.m.

Saturday, March 14

Game 25 – Class A Championship, 10 a.m.

Game 26 – Class AA Championship, 12:30 p.m.

Game 27 – Class AAA Championship, 5 p.m.

Game 28 – Class AAAA Championship, 7:30 p.m.

Regional round results:

Class AAAA North Region:

Friday, February 27

Preston 44, Jefferson 32

Wheeling Park 63, Spring Mills 25

Wednesday, March 4 (winners to state tournament)

Morgantown 76, Preston 15

Washington 56, Musselman 41

Martinsburg 49, Wheeling Park 29

University 54, Hedgesville 46

Class AAAA South Region:

Friday, February 27

Oak Hill 51, Riverside 48

Hurricane 52, Buckhannon-Upshur 36

Wednesday, March 4 (winners to state tournament)

George Washington 72, Oak Hill 43

Cabell Midland 47, Huntington 34

Parkersburg South 59, Hurricane 39

Parkersburg 92, Woodrow Wilson 46

Class AAA Region I:

Thursday, February 26

Fairmont Senior 42, North Marion 25

Grafton 72, Brooke 21

Tuesday, March 3 (winners to state tournament)

John Marshall 47, Fairmont Senior 30

East Fairmont 69, Grafton 28

Class AAA Region II:

Thursday, February 26

Elkins 53, Bridgeport 37

Hampshire 54, Robert C. Byrd 34

Tuesday, March 3 (winners to state tournament)

Keyser 58, Elkins 21

Hampshire 55, Lewis County 52

Class AAA Region III:

Thursday, February 26

Greenbrier East 102, PikeView 29

Princeton 88, Shady Spring 24

Capital 58, Herbert Hoover 43

Nicholas County 41, Ripley 29

Tuesday, March 3 (winners to state tournament)

Greenbrier East 66, Nicholas County 42

Princeton 47, Capital 38

Class AAA Region IV:

Thursday, February 26

Winfield 41, Lincoln County 31

Spring Valley 95, Point Pleasant 9

St. Albans 39, Chapmanville 28

Tuesday, March 3 (winners to state tournament)

Nitro 50, Winfield 25

Spring Valley 70, St. Albans 25

Class AA Region I:

Friday, February 27

Oak Glen 47, Ravenswood 35

Wheeling Central Catholic 87, Weir 40

Doddridge County 77, Tyler Consolidated 53

Thursday, March 5 (winners to state tournament)

Williamstown 71, Oak Glen 39

Wheeling Central Catholic 57, Doddridge County 48

Class AA Region II:

Friday, February 27

Lincoln 69, South Harrison 22

Moorefield 53, Frankfort 29

Philip Barbour 73, Berkeley Springs 27

Petersburg 62, Braxton County 32

Thursday, March 5 (winners to state tournament)

Lincoln 73, Moorefield 46

Philip Barbour 50, Petersburg 40

Class AA Region III:

Wednesday, February 25

Mingo Central 59, Liberty Raleigh 16

Friday, February 27

James Monroe 98, Mingo Central 14

Independence 50, Midland Trail 35

Westside 57, Summers County 52

Wyoming East 59, River View 42

Thursday, March 5 (winners to state tournament)

James Monroe 58, Independence 29

Wyoming East 70, Westside 48

Class AA Region IV:

Tuesday, February 24

Poca 56, Clay County 31

Friday, February 27

Charleston Catholic 59, Poca 25

Buffalo 56, Sissonville 51

Wayne 76, Scott 42

Logan 48, Roane County 40

Thursday, March 5 (winners to state tournament)

Charleston Catholic 46, Buffalo 42

Wayne 53, Logan 44

Class A Region I:

Tuesday, February 24

Valley 65, Madonna 43

Wood County Christian 50, Notre Dame 21

Thursday, February 26

St. Marys 87, Valley 26

Parkersburg Catholic 54, Wood County Christian 32

Cameron 52, Magnolia 40

Ritchie County 68, Clay-Battelle 33

Wednesday, March 4 (winners to state tournament)

St. Marys 72, Cameron 31

Ritchie County 65, Parkersburg Catholic 47

Class A Region II:

Thursday, February 26

Pendleton County 43, Paw Paw 33

Pocahontas County 93, Union 12

Tygarts Valley 60, East Hardy 16

Wednesday, March 4 (winners to state tournament)

Tucker County 70, Pendleton County 25

Pocahontas County 74, Tygarts Valley 50

Class A Region III:

Thursday, February 26

Greater Beckley Christian 71, Richwood 27

Greenbrier West 29, Meadow Bridge 24

Sherman 48, Montcalm 25

Webster County 50, Mount View 12

Wednesday, March 4 (winners to state tournament)

Greater Beckley Christian 47, Greenbrier West 43

Webster County 37, Sherman 28

Class A Region IV:

Thursday, February 26

Gilmer County 73, Hannan 26

Tolsia 52, Wahama 30

Wirt County 51, Man 11

Tug Valley 66, Calhoun County 24

Wednesday, March 4 (winners to state tournament)

Gilmer County 60, Tolsia 27

Tug Valley 59, Wirt County 37

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Greenbrier East holds off Capital, 55-52

Greg Carey — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 04:41:38 +0000

FAIRLEA, W.Va. — Greenbrier East struggled scoring for the entirety of the first quarter Thursday night in its Class AAA Region III contest against visiting Capital.

The Cougars failed to take full advantage, and when the Spartans found their offensive rhythm in the second quarter, they gained a one-point halftime lead before making enough plays throughout the second half to hold off the Cougars for a 55-52 victory.

“We knew it was going to be a dogfight from the word go,” Greenbrier East head coach Jared Patton said. “They’re well-coached and those kids play with every ounce of energy they have. We had to bring it tonight.”

Capital (17-5) never led in the second half, but had a chance to do exactly that out of a timeout with 54 seconds left. Facing a one-point deficit, the Cougars called on guard Kahsi Morgan, who had the hot hand for much of the second half. But on this occasion, Morgan’s runner was off the mark, and after the Spartans came up with another pivotal rebound, that forced the Cougars to foul.

Brody Hamric’s two free throws with 12 seconds remaining made it a three-point margin, and with only one team foul, the Spartans (17-6) elected to give two more. Morgan got off a challenged three with time winding down that was no good, setting off a frenzied celebration for the home team.

“I have on the board the toughest team wins,” Patton said. “I don’t care where we play or where we’re going — the toughest team wins and these guys believe it.”

That the Spartans were afforded the luxury of staying at home was a contentious point throughout the week. Greenbrier East was one of four Region III schools (PikeView, Princeton and Shady Spring the others) to vote the Cougars last in regional seeding, leading to a team that won more than 80 percent of its regular season games to open the postseason away against a quality foe. The reasoning behind it was Capital didn’t play any of seven regional opponents throughout the season.

“At the end of the day, they played a great game, so don’t take that away from the kids,” Cougars’ head coach Cookie Miller said. “I’m not taking away anything from the kids and I want that to be understood. This has nothing to do with the game that was played, but the card we were dealt, I think it was a lot of under the table and going back and forth with three-ways calls trying to come up with schemes against kids. I don’t think that’s respect to the game. I went pretty far in this game and I love this game. This game has been good to me. The basketball Gods won’t let them continue on.”

Miller’s team was locked in defensively to start, effectively utilizing a half court zone with fairly steady traps to limit GEHS to 2-for-12 shooting and four points in the opening quarter. Isiah Scott banked in a triple for the final points of the frame, allowing CHS to double its lead to 10-4.

But just over a minute into the second quarter, the Spartans had a higher offensive output in that frame than what they produced throughout the first.

Morgan and Greenbrier East guard Darius Burns traded treys, before Burns made another from long range that had his team to within 18-16 with 4:30 remaining in the half.

Sam Hawver broke a 22-all tie with his first of two free throws to give the Spartans their first second-quarter lead at the 1:04 mark, though Capital countered with a Demajaih Spencer pull-up jumper and David Robinson’s layup to lead by two.

With time winding down in the half, Hamric made a three after getting free on an inbound play, allowing Greenbrier East to lead 27-26 at halftime.

“It was a great environment. Our games have been like this all season,” Miller said. “I’m glad our seniors and community got to experience something like this.”

The Spartans carried over that second-quarter execution into the second half and got a conventional three-point play from Hamric, along with a triple from Nathan Dixon to up their advantage to 35-28.

Consecutive buckets from Braylen Godfrey later in the third left GEHS with a 42-35 lead and after Burns connected from deep moments later, the Spartans had the game’s largest lead at 45-36.

Morgan’s triple for the final points of the third brought the Cougars to within five, and they were even 1 minute into the fourth when he ran off five straight points to start the frame.

“I don’t think I felt good this game until the buzzer sounded,” Patton said. “They’re too good of a team. Anything could have happened. We had a stretch where we built a little bit of a lead, and next thing you know, they’re right back in it. They’re tough.”

But the visitors could never gain a second-half lead, with Dixon banking in a midrange jumper for a 52-49 lead, before the Cougars tied it on one free throw from Camden Harris and a DeShaud Williams transition layup with 1:35 remaining.

Burns made 1-of-2 free throws to put the Spartans in front and Capital never scored again.

Having fouls to give down the stretch was advantageous.

“You play all these games, and whether you win or lose, you get to work on stuff and that’s one thing we’ve worked on in these in-game scenarios,” Patton said. “We knew we had two or three to give, and burned a little clock off.“

Burns led four Spartan double-figure scorers with 14, while Dixon and Godfrey followed with 13 and Hamric contributed 10.

Greenbrier East had a 31-24 rebounding advantage, including 20-11 in the first half.

“We said we had to have every rebound, because they’re too good to give them second chances,” Patton said.

The Spartans also made 12-of-17 free throws to the Cougars’ 3 for 10 effort from the line.

Morgan’s 17 points led all players. He accounted for five of his team’s seven treys.

The Spartans next play a Class AAA Region III co-final at Shady Spring on Tuesday for a spot in the state tournament.

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Philip Barbour pulls away from Petersburg, 50-40 to clinch fifth consecutive regional title

Joe Brocato — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 04:08:42 +0000

PHILIPPI, W.Va. — Philip Barbour head coach Rick Mouser had a feeling a Petersburg run was coming. Unlike in their previous meeting in January, his Colts would not relinquish the lead as Philip Barbour held on to defeat the Vikings 50-40 in the Class AA Region II co-finals.

Leading by as many as ten points in the first half, PB (16-8) saw their advantage shrink to a single point in the third quarter (31-30). However, the Colts immediately answered with a 13-0 run that extended into the fourth quarter, providing the winning margin.

“They are always scrappy. They play a lot like we do, off of hustle and things like that. They came here tonight to play,” Mouser said.

“When we played them in the regular season, we led by about 12 the whole night like we did tonight. They actually took the lead with a couple minutes left and we ended up winning by four (51-47). We were kind of prepared and ready for that because we knew they would make a run.”

Philip Barbour never trailed in the contest. They ended the first quarter on a 12-2 run to build a 17-7 lead through the opening eight minutes.

“I think they were just ready. They were ready to play. They found a few quick baskets early. That usually fuels us a little bit.”

PB junior center Izzy Knotts led all scorers with 22 points.

“She just usually outworks and out hustles everybody. And she is only getting better. She is adding more to her game. All the girls have improved as the year has gone on.”

With the victory, Philip Barbour will play in the state tournament for the fifth consecutive season. The Colts are the No. 7 seed and they will meet No. 2 Williamstown in the quarterfinal round March 11 at 7:15 p.m.

“These girls just work their butts off. Most of them, their sport is not even basketball, it is volleyball or soccer. They just come out and work hard and try to out hustle everybody.”

Miley Tingler led Petersburg (15-7) with 18 points.

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Photo gallery: Winfield defeats Point Pleasant, 63-32

MetroNews Staff — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 03:34:25 +0000

WINFIELD, W.Va. — Photo gallery from Winfield’s 63-32 win over Point Pleasant in the Class AAA Region IV semifinals. The Generals will host Nitro in the regional final round on March 10.

(Photo gallery courtesy of Ben Queen/www.BenQueenPhotography.com)

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University, Ripley out to early leads at state wrestling

MetroNews Staff — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 03:10:51 +0000

— Story by David Walsh, Photo gallery by Will Wotring

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Divisions I and II are going as expected after Thursday night’s opening round in the 78^th West Virginia High School State Wrestling Tournament at Mountain Health Network Arena. University, seeking a third straight large school title, and Parkersburg found themselves in the top two in the standings on a night dominated by pins as No. 1 seeds would beat up on No. 4 seeds.

University started the event minus two competitors. One did not make weight and the other, who won a state title a year ago, is not competing as he’s recovering from a football injury.

One competitor delivering big for the Hawks is Maximus Fortier, a junior who transferred in from Fairmont Senior. While there, he won the state title as a freshman at 144 with a final record of 41-1. He competes at 165 now and is 36-2 after winning with a first-round pin Thursday night.

“Come down, support the team and try to win,” Fortier said of his battle plan. “Wrestle the way we know how.”

Fortier and the Hawks won the Ron Mauck OVAC title, the WSAZ Invitational and West Virginia Duals during the season. He competed in two major tournaments as well. He went 2-2 in the Ironman and won his weight class in the Powerade Tournament which attracts the top teams in the nation.

“Wasn’t ready,” he said about the Ironman. “Did my thing at Powerade. It was big.”

Fortier said support at his new school grows every day.

“They treat me like family,” he said.

Strategy for the State Tournament is simple.

“Wrestle the way we know how to wrestle,” Fortier said.

University capitalized on a strong finish in the heavier weights and leads with 47 points. Parkersburg, which finished second here last year, trails with 39.5. Cabell Midland is third with 37.5 and Huntington fourth with 32.5.

Ripley is in year two in Division II. The Vikings placed sixth a year ago. They came to town as the Region 4 winner and qualified 11 with nine taking first and the other two second. Ripley leads after Thursday with 38 points thanks to wins by pin or major fall. Independence is second with 27 and Keyser third with 25.5. Cameron is the leader in Division III with 16 points.

The tournament continues Friday with sessions at 11:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, the girls have their state with action starting at 8 a.m. The boys begin at 10:30.

Championship finals are Saturday night at 6:30. Wrestlers are now seeded prior to the tournament and the pill breaks deadlocks.

During the season, Ripley won the West Virginia Duals, beat Herbert Hoover twice, Point Pleasant and also got wins over Parkersburg South and Huntington.

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MEC Tournament Day 2: Women’s semifinal matchups set

MetroNews Staff — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 02:42:34 +0000

— By Duane Cochran, For Mountain East.org

Frostburg State 77, West Virginia Wesleyan 71

WHEELING, W.Va. — Much of the talk entering this week’s annual Mountain East Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament centered around the title being wide open for the taking by any number of teams.

Thursday afternoon in the quarterfinals at WesBanco Arena seventh-seeded Frostburg State validated that conversation.
FSU erased a seven-point halftime lead late in the third quarter and then held off every challenge from second-seeded West Virginia Wesleyan in the fourth and final period to record a 77-71 victory.

The win, which improved Frostburg to 16-14, marks only the third time in the history of the tournament that a seventh seed has reached the semifinals and it put Frostburg back in the final four for the second consecutive season.

The Bobcats will face third-seeded University of Charleston (19-10) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in the tournament.

Frostburg dropped both of its meetings with Wesleyan during the regular season so Wednesday after its opening-round win over Point Park and Thursday morning FSU head coach Jenna Eckleberry and her team chose to take a bit of a different approach.

“Wesleyan beat us twice so we didn’t expect them to make too many adjustments,” Eckleberry said. “The thing I want to say is how proud I am of our girls because we didn’t have practice and we opted not to shoot around this morning and instead rest.

“We met as a group in our film session and I was throwing a lot of different things out there as to what we were going to do against them. There were all these things and little adjustments without any practice and I’m so proud of our team for staying locked in, switching defenses and doing and executing all of those things today we asked them to do to try to keep them off balance. It was a lot for them to adapt to in a very short period of time.”

FSU’s Jenna Muha, who finished with 17 points and six rebounds, says Eckleberry’s tweeks made the difference against Wesleyan.

“Coach Eck said this morning this may be the worst game plan in the world or it may be the best, but if you all buy in I think good things will happen,” Muha said. “We did that. We trusted her as our leader and that’s what helped us win the game.”

Wesleyan controlled the contest for the first 27 minutes, but in the final 2:32 of the third quarter Frostburg went on an 11-2 run to wipe out a six-point deficit and take the lead for good at 56-53 heading to the final quarter.

Wesleyan did tie the score twice at 67 with 4:28 to play and again at 69 with 3:28 remaining, but could never re-take the lead.

FSU’s Julie Spinelli, who finished with 17 points, scored 12 of those points in the fourth quarter, including four in the final two minutes to help her team pull away and open a six-point lead with just 17 seconds left to play.

“Give Frostburg credit,” said Wesleyan coach Brett Vincent. “They played really well. We knew it was going to be a tough game. They played us tough at their place, they’re getting better and they deserved to win.

“We didn’t play bad. We shot the ball well, but maybe not a good as we could have and maybe that had something to do with the openness of this arena. We just made a couple of bad decisions with the ball at times in the second half and missed a few shots here or there that could have made the difference in a game like this.”

Sophie Nichols led Frostburg with a game-high 25 points, 14 of which came in the opening half.

“This morning coming into the game we were all motivated, locked in and ready to play,” Nichols said. “At halftime only being down seven we knew going back out there we had to give it our all, stay together and play together. We just kept chipping away, eventually took control of the game and once we got to the fourth quarter we felt we could win it.”

Frostburg also got 11 points from Ayla Hileman and a game-high six assists and four steals from Mandy Roman.

Wesleyan, which finished its season at 18-7, was led by Ana Young’s 22 points. Kilah Dandridge chipped in 18 points, Emma Witt added 15, nine of which came in the fourth quarter, and Sydney Baird contributed 10. The Bobcats also got a game-high 11 rebounds from Allie Daniels.

Charleston 69, Wheeling 55

Despite a pair of close meetings during the regular season third-seeded University of Charleston had little trouble handling sixth-seeded Wheeling here Thursday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the annual Mountain East Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament at WesBanco Arena.

The Golden Eagles took control of the contest early and never trailed en route to an impressive 69-55 win. The victory improved UC to 19-10 on the year and sets up a meeting Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in the tournament semifinals with seventh-seeded Frostburg State (16-14).

“I’m really proud of our team,” UC coach Bubby Johnson said. “It’s tough to beat anyone three times in a year. That’s a really good Wheeling team which continues to fight and has a lot of talent.

“We really wanted it today. We’ve been talking about rebounding, offensive rebounds and how at this time of the year the game comes down to offensive rebounds and free throws. I thought in those two areas we did a really good job.”

That might be an understatement. Charleston actually did a phenomenal job on the glass in the game outrebounding the Cardinals 53-23 and was a perfect 7-of-7 at the foul line. UC actually had more offensive rebounds in the contest (25) than Wheeling did rebounds and the Golden Eagles turned those offensive boards into a 20-5 advantage in second-chance points.

“We do definitely try to emphasize rebounding and giving ourselves extra possessions in games,” said UC guard Paris Stokes, who finished with 19 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. “That’s something coach emphasizes every single day no matter whether it’s a light day or a regular day.

“Lately we’ve only been having one or two people crashing the boards hard. Today, I felt like everyone or at least three or four of us crashed hard and it made a difference.”
Wheeling, which saw its five-game winning streak halted with the loss, closes out the 2025-26 season with a 17-12 mark. It’s the fourth straight year the Cardinals have lost in their opening round game in the MEC Tournament. Three of those losses have now come against the Golden Eagles.

“To win in a tournament you’ve got to put four quarters together and today we didn’t do that,” Wheeling coach Ella Skeens said. “I thought we finished strong in the third and fourth, but you’ve gotta put four together, especially against a strong team like Charleston.

“The difference today? Rebounding. That’s no secret. It’s also no secret that we’re not that big on the court so we needed to make it an emphasis to get into them, get low and push them out. We didn’t do that. As a result they scored a lot on second and third chances today and I thought that was more our fault. We’re going to have to get better in the years to come in that area.

“Our free throws weren’t good either. We made just 5-of-12 and that’s nowhere near good enough.”

The contest was a battle of the top two scoring defenses in the MEC. Wheeling came into the game tops in league in scoring defense only allowing 58.9 points per game. UC, on the other hand, is second and gives up just 63.3.

Thursday Charleston’s defense won the war, holding the Cardinals to just 21 points in the first half and just 33 through three quarters.

“We not only emphasize rebounds, we emphasize defense,” UC’s Jordan Scully, who finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, said. “We’re all about getting stops. We always say see a stop, get a stop. We definitely play off of our defense a lot.”

After falling behind by 21 heading into the final quarter, Wheeling rallied and outscored the Golden Eagles 22-15 in the final 10 minutes. The Cardinals got within nine of UC at 62-53 with 2:08 to play on a layup by Kenzie Dalton, but could get no closer.

“This year we had a new coach and a new system but we had the same fundamentals,” said Dalton, who led Wheeling with 20 points, eight rebounds, five steals and five assists. “Our philosophy is defense wins games, but we’ve also got to be able to score more.”

Wheeling also got 13 points from Emilia Sierra Lacosta and 10 from Emma Reynolds.

UC and Frostburg, who will square off in Saturday’s semifinals, split their regular-season series this year with each team winning on its home court.

Glenville State 85, West Liberty 74

By Bryan Dillon
For MountainEast.org

WHEELING, W.Va. – Nwando Okigbo’s career night led the top-seeded Glenville State Pioneers over ninth-seeded West Liberty 85-74 in the quarterfinals of the Mountain East Conference tournament Thursday night at WesBanco Arena.

Okigbo finished the game with her tenth double-double of the season, including a career high 25 rebounds and 17 points. The 25 rebounds tied for the most in MEC women’s tournament history with Lily Ritz of Wheeling University.

Glenville State’s offense was well-balanced with four players scoring in double-figures and seven players scoring at least seven points. In addition to Okigbo’s team-best 17 points, Nylah Davis scored 16, Khalia Bryant added 12, and Jayda Allie dropped in 10 points.

Reagan Vinskovich and Anna Lucarelli turned in big performances for West Liberty, with Vinskovich scoring a game-high 29 points and pulling down 13 rebounds for her tenth double-double of the season. While Vinskovich did her work in the lane, Lucarelli showed her multi-level scoring ability with a career-high 27 points in her final game for the Hilltoppers.

“It was a tough and gritty win from our team,” stated Glenville State Head Coach Emily Stoller. “We played them twice already this season, and it came down to the wire both games, so we knew we were going to be in a dog fight. We made some adjustments coming into the game, and I am proud of how the team applied the adjustments to the game today.”

The teams entered the halftime break with the score tied at 43-43. After the back-and-forth first half, which saw ten lead changes and four ties, the adjustments from the Pioneers, who averaged 86 points per game in the regular season, showed up as they turned to their defense to pull away from West Liberty. Glenville State held the Hilltoppers to only 31 points in the second half. GSU’s defense was particularly strong in the 3rd quarter, limiting WLU to just 16.7 percent shooting on 18 attempts and 11 points.

West Liberty jumped out to an early first quarter lead at 15-11 before Glenville State reeled off nine straight points to seize a 20-15 lead with 1:53 remaining in the quarter.

During the second quarter, neither team was able to gain more than a four-point lead at any point as the teams exchanged the lead seven times in the quarter. Vinskovich’s spinning layup on the fast break gave West Liberty a lead at 35-33, which they would maintain until the final 30 seconds of the half, when Jayda Allie dropped in one of her two three-pointers in the game to level the score at 43.

Glenville State started to pull away midway through the third quarter, thanks to a 10-2 scoring run capped by a Nylah Davis layup, which gave the Pioneers a 57-51 lead. Davis then closed out the quarter with a free throw and a layup to give her team an eight-point advantage heading into the final quarter.

Early in the 4th quarter, Okigbo scored six points to help stretch GSU’s lead to 12 points. Vinskovich and Lucarelli combined to score 15 points in the quarter, but it was not enough to cut into the Pioneers’ lead as they were able to find answers throughout the final period of play.

“I am unbelievably proud of my group,” said West Liberty Head Coach Kyle Cooper. “When you look at what we were able to do, we were able to get into the ring with a really good basketball team tonight and have our chances … I thought we did generate some good looks at crucial times, but unfortunately some of the shots just didn’t fall.”

Glenville State will move on to the semifinal on Saturday, March 7, at Noon where they will face the winner of the game between fourth-seeded Concord and fifth-seeded Fairmont State at WesBanco Arena. This will mark the ninth time that the Pioneers have reached the semifinals of the MEC tournament.

Fairmont State 58, Concord 56

By Bryan Dillon
For Mountain East.org

WHEELING, W.Va. – Fairmont State’s record breaking defensive performance lifted the fifth-seeded Falcons over fourth-seeded Concord, 58-56, in the quarterfinals of the Mountain East Conference Tournament presented by The Health Plan on Thursday night at WesBanco Arena.

The Falcons’ defense was the story of the night, utilizing stifling pressure throughout the game to force the Mountain Lions into 32 turnovers, which were converted into 26 points for Fairmont State. 21 of the 32 turnovers that were forced came from steals, which set a new Mountain East Conference tournament record for steals in a game, surpassing the previous record of 20 set by Glenville State on two occasions.

Forcing turnovers was critical for Fairmont State to overcome a difficult shooting performance. The Falcons shot 34.3 percent from the floor, making 24-of-70 shots and 38.9 percent at the foul line. Meanwhile, the Mountain Lions shot 47.8 percent from the field for the game. Their 32 turnovers allowed Fairmont State to attempt 24 more shots.

“I want to give credit to our opponents; it was a great game that could have gone either way,” commented Fairmont State Head Coach Stephanie Anderson. “Our identity is defense, and that is something that we preach every single day. We work on it every single day because it is controllable and we know that we control the effort that we give defensively.”

Gabby Reep led the Falcons in scoring, netting a game-high 18 points. Alanna Tate joined her in double-digits with 14 points. Haylen Cook was big on the boards for Fairmont State, grabbing a team-best 10 rebounds.

Three Mountain Lions shared the scoring load, Abbie Smith (17), the league’s player of the year, Olivia Ziolkowski (16), and Kenyah Stubbs (14) combining for 47 points. Smith and Ziolkowski both finished the games with double-doubles, pulling down 12 and 11 rebounds, respectively.

Tied at 56-56 with under a minute remaining, Gabby Reep drove baseline and dropped off a pass to Alanna Tate, who scored the game-winning basket with 52 seconds remaining in the contest.

The game started with both teams trading baskets, before Gabby Reep gave the Falcons the largest lead of the first quarter on a driving layup with 14 seconds remaining to give Fairmont State a 19-15 lead. FSU set the tone for the game, forcing seven turnovers and snatching five steals in the quarter.

Both teams scored 11 points in a low scoring second quarter. After Concord’s Kiley Smich tied the score at 23-23, the Falcons went on a 6-0 run following baskets from Reep and Haylen Cook. Fairmont State ended the half with 14 steals and turned 18 turnovers into 14 points to give them a 30-26 lead at the break.

A pair of runs for each team highlighted the third quarter. With the score 34-32, the Falcons went on an 8-0 run to give them a 42-32 lead. The run was fueled by eight points from Alanna Tate. That run was quickly matched by a 9-0 run from the Mountain Lions to close the deficit to one to set up a dramatic 4th quarter.

Kenyah Stubbs gave Concord its first lead since the first quarter following a layup with 8:50 remaining in the final frame. After falling behind by a single point, Fairmont State strung together three consecutive baskets to recapture the lead.

Stubbs would once again give CU a one-point advantage with 3:20 left to play on a driving layup, which was answered by a three-pointer from Lalia Jones. Olivia Ziolkowski evened the game at 56-56 with 2:03 left to play on a short jump shot from inside the lane, before the decisive basket from Tate in the final minute of play. The Mountain Lions had an opportunity right at the end of regulation to force OT; however, a layup attempt from Stubbs just missed.

“If you stayed up this late, you got your money’s worth. You got to see two good teams really go at it,” said Concord Head Coach Tesla Southcott. “To be in that game after turning the ball over at that level, we have to count our blessings. I think credit goes to Fairmont for their defensive effort. I thought from a defensive effort standpoint that our team played as good as they could have. To give them 32 extra possessions, that is the difference in the game.”

Fairmont State will move on to the semifinal on Saturday, March 7, at Noon to face top-seeded Glenville State at WesBanco Arena in a rematch of last season’s championship game. This will be the seventh time that the Falcons have reached the semifinal of the MEC tournament.

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WVSSAC Class AA Girls Basketball State Tournament schedule

Joe Brocato — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 01:44:39 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Eight teams have qualified for the WVSSAC Class AA Girls Basketball State Tournament. The five-day, 28-game event will begin on March 10 at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center. Radio broadcasts of all state tournament games will air on the MetroNews Radio Network and will be streamed at wvmetronews.com. MetroNews will also produce HD video broadcasts of the four championship games.

Class AA State Tournament seeds:

James Monroe (22-1)
Williamstown (19-3)
Wheeling Central Catholic (19-5)
Charleston Catholic (15-9)
Wyoming East (17-6)
Wayne (17-6)
Philip Barbour (16-8)
Lincoln (16-8)

Day-by-day schedule:

Tuesday, March 10 (Quarterfinals)

Game 1 – No. 4 Charleston Catholic vs. No. 5 Wyoming East, 11:15 a.m.

Game 2 – No. 1 James Monroe vs. No. 8 Lincoln, 7:15 p.m.

Wednesday, March 11 (Quarterfinals)

Game 3 – No. 3 Wheeling Central Catholic vs. No. 6 Wayne, 11:15 a.m.

Game 4 – No. 2 Williamstown vs. No. 7 Philip Barbour, 7:15 p.m.

Friday, March 13 (Semifinals)

Game 5 – Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 9:30 a.m.

Game 6 – Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 1 p.m.

Saturday, March 14 (Championship)

Game 7 – Championship, 12:30 p.m.

The post WVSSAC Class AA Girls Basketball State Tournament schedule appeared first on WV MetroNews.

3 Guys Before The Game – WVU Basketball – KSU Recap – UCF Preview (Episode 702)

MetroNews Staff — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 15:45:47 +0000

The final game of the regular season will have a significant impact on what lies ahead for the WVU basketball team.

A win on Friday against UCF will give the Mountaineers an opening round bye in next week’s Big 12 Championship in Kansas City.

A victory would also give the Mountaineers the schoo’s second non-losing Big 12 record in the last five years.

In this episode, the “Guys” recap Tuesday’s loss at Kansas State and preview the second regular season encounter with UCF.

Hoppy Kercheval presents his Obvious Observations and listeners contribute with Textual Healing.

3 Guys Before The Game is sponsored by – Jan Dils Attorneys at Law, Komax Business Systems, GoMart, Lou Wendell Marine Sales, Tudor’s Biscuit World and Conley CPA Group.

Don’t forget to check out the 3 Guys website.

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Gibson begins second spring as Herd head coach

Greg Carey — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 12:57:58 +0000

— By Bill Cornwell

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Tony Gibson’s second spring football as Marshall head coach is underway, with the Herd having returned to the field Tuesday.

Gibson is hoping Marshall can improve from a 5-7 finish in his first season as head coach, one that ended in disappointing fashion as the Herd lost three of its final four games to miss out on qualifying for a bowl game.

Gibson had positive reviews of the opening spring session as his team looks to make the most of the next several weeks.

“It’s a great day to be on the field,” Gibson said. “We had that Day 1 energy and the goal is to keep it up for all 15 practices.”

The Herd are scheduled to practice again Thursday and Friday as part of a schedule with three practices weekly over five of the next six weeks. There will be no practice the week of March 16 as a result of spring break.

The annual spring game that concludes spring practice is set for Saturday, April 11 at 3 p.m., and will be held at Edwards Stadium.

Gibson was pleased with a smoother start to spring drills in comparison to last season, when more than 70 new players were trying to find their way in the program.

A core group of veteran leaders is back for Marshall, including starting quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, offensive lineman Jalen Slappy and tight end Toby Payne.

There are new additions to the defensive coaching staff in coordinator in Brad Lambert, safeties coach Dean Hood, cornerbacks coach Chip West and line coach Anthony Leonard. Leonard replaces Ralph Street, who has accepted a position on the Cleveland Browns coaching staff.

“We’ve got a coaching staff here that teaches well and is putting their schemes in place,” Gibson said. “The kids have done really well catching to things off the field and it’s showing on the field.”

Defensively, Marshall looks to replace several departed veterans along the back end and at safety.

Del-Rio Wilson will be challenged for the top spot behind center by returning backup Zion Turner and West Virginia transfer Khalil Wilkins. Del Rio-Wilson had put together a strong 2025 season before injuries slowed him in November. He threw for 2,043 yards and 17 touchdowns last fall, adding 660 yards and six touchdowns on rushes.

On special teams, a new kicker (Jorge Diaz Nicolas) and punter (true freshman Cooper Heimbach) are getting their first reps at this level.

“It was good to get out here on Day 1 and see these guys run around,” Gibson said. “We’ll go to the film room, get better and try to learn from it, then we’ll come out on Thursday and do things a little better.”

The Herd had a surprise visitor to practice Tuesday in former Marshall All-American defensive end Mike Green, a 2025 second-round NFL draft pick who just completed his rookie season with the Baltimore Ravens. Green recorded 41 tackles, 3.5 sacks and a fumble recovery in his first year as a professional.

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Fricks, Lewis-Eutsey earn first-team All-Sun Belt honors

MetroNews Staff — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 12:55:23 +0000

— By Bill Cornwell

A pair of seniors from Marshall’s men’s basketball team were honored by the Sun Belt Conference this week for their accomplishments in the recently completed regular season.

Wyatt Fricks was named first-team All-Sun Belt and teammate Jalen Speer was a second-team honoree.

Fricks, a five-year member of the Marshall program, averages 15.6 points and 5.6 rebounds to go with 45 blocks. The Lawrenceville, Georgia native scored double figures in 24 contests, with eight games of 20 or more, including a career-high 34 against Elon.

Fricks also registered three double-doubles including one against Miami Ohio, the nation’s lone remaining unbeaten.

Speer leads the team with a scoring average of 15.7 assists and is tops in the Sun Belt with 170 assists.

The Gainesville, Florida native had 23 games with at least 10 points and nine with 20 or more, including a career-high 39 at Coastal Carolina last month.

Speer also recorded at least five assists in 19 games with 10 or more in three, including a career-high 12 against Elon.

South Alabama guard Chaze Harris was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and Troy’s Scott Cross was named the league’s Coach of the Year.

— — — — —

Marshall women’s scoring leader Timaya Lewis-Eutsey earned multiple honors in being named all-conference first team, league Newcomer of the Year and a member of the Sun Belt All-Defensive team.

Timaya Lewis-Eutsey handles the ball. Photo courtesy of @HerdWBB

The Herd have now had at least one first-team all-conference honoree in three straight seasons.

Lewis-Eutsey joined the Herd ahead of this season after transferring from Virginia Commonwealth. She finished as the Sun Belt’s leading scorer with an average of 19.4 points and tops the conference with 3.6 steals per game. Her 112 steals are 34 more than anybody else in the Sun Belt and ranks No. 4 among all Division I players.

Lewis-Eutsey shot an efficient 49 percent and had six games with 30 or more points, 12 with 20-plus, while registering double-figure scoring 26 times.

Lewis-Eutsey also averages almost four assists and four rebounds and ranks fifth in the Sun Belt with 121 assists.

Georgia Southern forward Kishyah Anderson was named the Sun Belt Women’s Player of the Year, while the Eagles’ Hana Haden was the pick as the league’s Women’s Coach of the Year.

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