Greg Carey, Author at WV MetroNews

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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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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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.”

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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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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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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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Law and order: Rebels’ junior guard controls contest to lift Ritchie County past Parkersburg Catholic, 65-47

Greg Carey — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 04:50:49 +0000

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — Ritchie County girls basketball coach David McCullough is a firm believer junior Elsa Law is the Rebels’ best guard since Missy Spangler, the 2001 Mary Ostrowski Award winner as the state’s most outstanding player.

On Wednesday at Parkersburg Catholic, Law was near her best, and so were several teammates, with the Rebels dominating the first quarter and playing plenty well enough from that point forward to score a 65-47 road win and eliminate the Crusaderettes.

Law led all players with 26 points and eight rebounds and was efficient and effective throughout. She made 7-of-12 field-goal attempts with a pair of three-pointers and sank 10-of-11 free throws, while controlling large stretches of a contest her team never trailed in.

“If that’s not an all-state guard, I don’t know what it is,” McCullough said. “She’s one of the hardest-working kids you’ll ever encounter.”

The result sends RCHS (17-7) to the Class A state tournament as the No. 5 seed and a quarterfinal against No. 4 Tucker County awaits.

The Rebels rattled off the first nine points, a stretch that featured consecutive field goals from Callie Smith, whose performance was indicative of the Rebels’ effort.

“Callie was sick. Two days ago, she didn’t come to practice,” McCullough said. “She came for half a day and practiced yesterday, and today she came for half a day.”

The lone free throw Law missed prevented her from finishing off a conventional three-point play after she turned a steal into a layup that left her team with a 17-5 advantage.

Law concluded the first quarter with 13 of her team’s 28 points, keying a strong showing over the first 8 minutes for Ritchie, which shot 11 for 15 to build a 20-point advantage.

“This team is great. There’s not one girl on this team that we don’t need,” Law said. “When we’re all scoring and working hard, it’s hard for them to stop all of us. We work as a team to get baskets.”

Law’s only scoring play of the second quarter was a conventional three-point play 1:47 before halftime that left the Rebels with a 35-13 advantage.

Annie Tokodi-Ruth’s layup, combined with a Meg Roedersheimer triple, allowed Parkersburg Catholic (14-8) to cut its deficit to 17 at halftime.

The Crusaderettes were better on both ends for much of the third quarter, and after trailing 42-20, the home team ran off nine unanswered points with field goals from three different starters and two free throws from Macy Singer over that time.

Tokodi-Ruth’s trey for the final points of the third allowed PCHS to trail 44-32 with 8 minutes remaining.

Roedersheimer’s jumper with 6:50 remaining allowed the Crusaderettes to face a 46-36 deficit, but they’d get no closer.

Instead, Ritchie, which squandered a double-digit advantage through three quarters in a regular season loss to Parkersburg Catholic, maintained its composure and got a triple from Law and Chelsie Jeffrey’s paint bucket to lead, 53-38.

Jeffrey scored inside again moments later and Law accounted for another conventional three-point play with just inside 2 minutes remaining that left the visitors in front, 58-42.

“I was like listen, ‘we know what can happen here and we have to keep after it,’” McCullough said. “We’re getting better at understanding how to take care of the ball in situations when they were zoning us, and not forcing up something. We’re a go-getter type team, and we have to learn sometimes, handle the ball a little bit, work it around and get a nice look for a shot.”

Jeffrey scored 15 points in the win and made 7-of-13 shots.

“Chelsie did her thing tonight,” McCullough said. “She’s a 5-4 or 5-5 guard who takes it to the rack. You saw that tonight, and when she does that, she’s a really good player.”

Also for the Rebels, Emily Bush added nine points, while Smith and Jordan Bailey scored six apiece. Bailey also added seven boards, helping Ritchie dominate the glass for a 38-23 advantage.

Tokodi-Ruth led Parkersburg Catholic with 13 points and Ellie Kinnison scored 11, all but two of which came from threes.

The Rebels had only seven turnovers to 13 for the Crusaderettes, which combined with rebounding, was pivotal in Ritchie attempting 14 more field goals (55-41).

“The loss hurts,” Parkersburg Catholic coach Bob Carr said. “The girls took it hard as they should, but moving forward, they should understand the legacy, if you will. They’ve established girls basketball again. We had the opportunity. I’m proud of them and they fought through a lot of adversity.”

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Mountaineers continue to work around scheduling adjustments

Greg Carey — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 16:00:22 +0000

(UPDATE as of 3/4/26, 1:45 p.m. — Wednesday’s WVU-Marshall baseball game was canceled some 3 hours prior to the scheduled first pitch.)

Schedule changes aren’t uncommon in college baseball.

West Virginia has dealt with an abundance of them early into the 2026 season, the latest of which has the Mountaineers set to play at 5 p.m. Wednesday against Marshall at Jack Cook Field.

WVU (8-2) had originally been slated to host Radford for two games Tuesday and Wednesday in Morgantown. Those contests were canceled after Highlanders’ freshman pitcher Joey Raccuia died last week in a car crash. Raccuia was the son of former Radford baseball coach Joe Raccuia.

“A tough spot that they’re in and they had a funeral service that they were going to attend as a team [Monday night] and they just didn’t think it was in their best interest to get on a bus, rush home and try to get to Morgantown,” WVU head coach Steve Sabins said as a guest on Statwide Sportsline. “There was some weather involved. We learned about that [Monday] afternoon and went full steam ahead.”

Full steam ahead meant exhausting all options searching for a replacement as a midweek opponent.

“It’s no longer a rolodex. It’s the Google Drive sheet with hours from Morgantown, and it’s basically characterized from 45 minutes to 5 hours,” Sabins said. “You go right down that list contacting everybody. We’ve worked with most of these coaches at some point for scheduling, fall games or something in the past. It’s never really how you want to spend your day, but playing is the most important thing, and so that kind of becomes priority. No. 1.”

Sabins mentioned Dayton, Akron, Ohio, UMBC and Binghamton as potential opponents the Mountaineers checked into playing as it didn’t initially appear Wednesday’s contest would come about with Marshall, which won 13-4 at Virginia Tech on Tuesday.

But after initial talks, Thundering Herd head coach Greg Beals got back in touch with Sabins and indicated the state’s two Division I programs could meet under one condition.

“He came back a few hours later and said, ‘administration said we’ll take you, but the only catch is you have to come to Huntington.’ I said, ‘no doubt.’ We just want to play baseball and want our team to stay in rhythm and get better, and be in a good environment with passionate fans, so it ended up working out well for us,” Sabins said.

Thus, WVU and Marshall are now set to meet four times this season, with the later matchups set for March 24 in Huntington, April 7 in Morgantown and May 5 in Charleston.

The Mountaineers (8-2) have won each of their three series thus far, though they missed out on a second sweep last weekend after squandering a 6-0 lead Sunday in a 7-6 loss at Kennesaw State.

“If you win that last one, you feel like you had a successful weekend and a little bit less when you lose the last one, because you keep that taste in your mouth,” Sabins said. “From a competitive and development standpoint, at this point in the year, it’s not necessarily bad. Often times, you’ll have better practices leading up to the next game.

“Some of it is has to do with this time of the year, in non-conference play, you’re really working to figure out your team. Opportunities are critical and guys getting opportunities to have success, experience failure and getting thrown in the fire is part of this journey whether we like it or not. I don’t think you ever hold your head. Winning a series on the road is a difficult thing to do. Don’t ever take wins for granted. We talk to our team about that. But we had a chance to win that game, sweep that series and it’s always the goal. That one slipped away from us. We’ll learn from it and hopefully bounce back on Wednesday.”

WVU got outstanding starting pitching for the entirety of its series against the Owls. Dawson Montesa, Chansen Cole and Maxx Yehl combined for 17 innings pitched and one run allowed on 10 hits over the three games. Montesa allowed the only run, but also went seven innings, while Cole and Yehl logged five scoreless each.

“Something that really stands out that I don’t know if we had done for the last several years was we started the same three pitchers three consecutive weekends on Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” Sabins said. “Last weekend, all three of those guys had quality starts. The name of the game is quality starting pitching. That’s what everybody recruits and that’s what you need to win. Over the course of the season, those are the teams that get to keep playing versus the ones that don’t.”

Ian Korn is WVU’s projected starter against Marshall, which has won three of four since a five-game skid.

The Herd (5-6) took two of three last weekend in a pitching-dominated home-opening series against Butler, before exploding for 13 runs against the Hokies in Blacksburg.

Both teams have three-game home series scheduled over the weekend. The Mountaineers host Columbia and Marshall will welcome St. Bonaventure.

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West Virginia falls flat in 65-63 loss to Kansas State

Greg Carey — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 05:30:37 +0000

West Virginia has said the right things about the need to capitalize on opportunities.

The Mountaineers aren’t following through when they come about.

The latest example came Tuesday night at Kansas State, which scored 21 unanswered points in the second half before holding off a furious West Virginia charge for a 65-53 victory at Bramlage Coliseum.

“The level of urgency and desire to win a game with so much on it wasn’t where it needed to be,” West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge said on postgame radio.

The Wildcats (12-18, 3-14) played without leading scorer PJ Haggerty, a surprise scratch with an undisclosed injury.

Although WVU (17-13, 8-9) defeated Kansas State 59-54 with Haggerty in the lineup during a January matchup in Morgantown, the Mountaineers were unable to capitalize on his absence in the rematch and fell to 1-4 in their last five games.

Both teams were dismal offensively in the opening half, which ended with West Virginia leading, 26-23.

The Mountaineers got 10 points apiece from reserve forwards Chance Moore and DJ Thomas, helping the visitors to at least somewhat overcome a starting lineup that scored six points on 3-for-15 shooting over the first 20 minutes.

“When you’re playing a team that is a little down and out, you can’t give them life and can’t give them hope,” Hodge said. “We had so many opportunities in the first half and at the beginning of the game to make some plays and entice a team that’s been struggling to maybe keep struggling.”

After a scoreless first half, WVU guard Honor Huff made his 100th three-pointer this season with 18:33 to play, allowing the Mountaineers to lead 31-27.

West Virginia went the next 8-plus minutes without a point, and Wildcats took control during that stretch.

Khamari McGriff scored the Wildcats’ first four points of the extended 21-0 spurt and accounted for four buckets and eight of the first 15 points during that time.

A jumper from CJ Jones with 10:53 remaining left the home team with a 48-31 advantage, before Thomas scored from close range to end his team’s extended drought at the 10:27 mark.

“I’m aware of our shortcomings and I understand when you’re deficient in some areas, your margin for error to win is razor thin,” Hodge said. “I’m disappointed with what was at stake, we got beat to loose balls. Would it have been nice to make more layups and threes? Of course. But when those things aren’t happening, you better do those other things.”

KSU had separate 19-point leads, the latter of which came at 57-38 when McGriff made two free throws with 7:29 to play.

WVU then increased its aggressiveness offensively and reeled off the next 11 points, while the Wildcats began to play tentative while in possession.

A three-pointer from K-State’s Nate Johnson left the Wildcats with a 60-49 lead with 3:48 left, but the Mountaineers continued to battle and trailed by six when Chance Moore scored in the paint at the 1:24 mark.

Moore’s next basket made it a five-point game, and after a Johnson turnover, Huff made two free throws to bring WVU to within 61-58 with 48 seconds left.

Another KSU turnover gave the visitors the ball back, but after Moore missed a shot that the Mountaineers rebounded, Huff committed a costly turnover.

Johnson made two free throws with 17 seconds left, and McGriff added two more with 7 seconds remaining before Huff made a trey at the buzzer.

Moore led WVU with 18 points and made 6-of-7 shots, but again struggled on free throws, finishing 5 for 9. WVU hurts its cause at the charity stripe and made only 9-of-16 attempts.

Brenen Lorient was the Mountaineers’ second-leading scorer with 14 second-half points, while Thomas followed with 12 and Huff added 11 on 3-for-11 shooting.

Treysen Eaglestaff led all players with 11 rebounds in defeat, but made only 3-of-12 shots in a six-point showing.

McGriff led KSU with 18 points and added seven rebounds.

Johnson finished with 16 points and nine boards.

WVU had nine of its 13 turnovers in the second half.

“Nine turnovers in the second half creates more busted floors, more cross match opportunities and through that, it makes you vulnerable for paint touch opportunities,” Hodge said.

K-State played under the guidance of interim head coach Matthew Driscoll. Driscoll replaced Jerome Tang, who was fired in between the team’s first and second matchups with West Virginia this season.

“Sometimes in life you get what you deserve,” Hodge said, “and we deserved to lose tonight.”

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Quite a Knight: Hampshire senior Della Knight sparks Trojans in 55-52 victory at Lewis County

Greg Carey — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 04:19:35 +0000

WESTON, W.Va. — Hampshire was limping to the finish line, having seen its 11-point fourth-quarter lead cut to one Tuesday night in a Class AAA Region II co-final at Lewis County.

Leading 53-52, the Trojans called timeout with 19 seconds remaining, looking to find a way past the Minutemaids’ pressure and did to the free-throw line.

The visitors did one better, with guard Juelean Dixon finding Della Knight all by her lonesome, and the Trojans’ senior made the most of her opportunity by converting the layup. On the other end, Minutemaids’ guard Payten Goodwin passed with time winding down to teammate Makenzie Egress, who attempted a three-pointer from the top of the key that was off the mark, allowing the Trojans to prevail, 55-52.

“We’re a little ahead of schedule with this win. I’m really proud of the way we stepped up and closed the game out against a great team,” Hampshire head coach Jordan Richardson said.

FINAL: Hampshire 55, Lewis County 52

Trojans executed late to get an uncontested layup for Knight, then sealed win with defensive stop.

Knight (18), Stewart (12) and Eversole (11) led Trojans (16-8) offensively.

Goodwin led LCHS (13-7) with game-high 22 points. #wvgirlsbb pic.twitter.com/weppVOEjA4

— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) March 4, 2026

Knight, the team’s only healthy senior, was a force throughout and finished with team-high totals of 18 points and nine rebounds.

“It feels great,” Knight said. “I haven’t been to state since my freshman year. Being able to go back is a good feeling.”

Hampshire is the No. 8 seed and will face unbeaten and top seed Greenbrier East in the quarterfinal round.

The Trojans (16-8) looked to be in control when they began the fourth quarter with a 47-37 lead that grew to 52-41 on Lila Eversole’s bucket off her cut to the basket.

But starting with Addie Curry’s triple in response, the Minutemaids (13-7) scored nine straight points, a stretch that ended with Egress’ layup at the 3:01 mark.

“The way we play, it sets it up big in the fourth quarter to go into 2-minute spurts and be able to call timeouts, settle back down and get refocused to get into our press,” Lewis head coach Joe Nichols said. “We did a very good job of it again. It’s always good to feel the electricity in the crowd. We’ve had so many tight games this season and in the last four years, just came up a little short in this one.”

Isabella Mathias made the second of two free throws with 36 seconds remaining to end a lengthy Hampshire drought, before Lewis’ Paelyn Hinkle accounted for her only field goal 17 seconds later to make it a one-point margin.

But for all of its offensive troubles during an eight-point fourth period, Hampshire executed out of the final timeout as well as Richardson could’ve hoped for, and gaining the three-point lead made a major difference when the Minutemaids regained possession.

“It was exciting, because I told myself I’m going to sit back and watch these young kids finish the job,” Richardson said.

Knight could hardly believe how open she was and tried to keep calm before accounting for the game’s last basket.

“I didn’t see anybody within 20 feet of me,” Knight said. “I took my time and took a dribble and laid it up.”

Both teams executed well throughout large stretches of the first half, which ended with Hampshire in front, 34-31.

The Trojans’ 19-13 lead served as the largest in the first half for either side.

Knight had 11 points and five rebounds through two quarters, while Goodwin led all players with 16 points and Egress helped keep her team competitive on the glass with seven rebounds.

Hampshire led by seven in the third before Egress scored four straight points to bring her team back to within three at 40-37.

A pivotal stretch followed that allowed the Trojans to gain separation, with Knight hitting a three at the 1:48 mark of the third to spark a 7-0 spurt to end the quarter that also featured four points from Kendyl Stewart.

After making half of its 24 field-goal attempts in the first half, the Minutemaids were 2 for 11 while being held to six points in the third quarter.

“We’ve seen a beast of a schedule and we don’t get to go a lot to the middle of the state and southern part of the state where some of the [No.] 1s and 2s are in rankings, but we went out and find all the competition we could for this moment,” Richardson said. “To have to beat that senior-heavy team, and a team that’s two years removed from playing in a state championship game, we knew it would take everything we had to finish the job.”

Stewart scored 12 points in the win, Eversole added 11 and Brooklyn Klavuhn chipped in with six points and seven boards to help Hampshire win the rebounding battle, 33-29.

Goodwin led all players with 22 points. Curry and Egress scored 10 apiece, with the latte accounting for a game-high 14 rebounds.

LCHS was responsible for 16 of 26 turnovers between the two teams.

“Especially in the last month, we’ve put ourselves in position of having to comeback in the fourth quarter after going cold at the wrong time,” Nichols said. “They fought their way back in it and had a chance to tie it a couple times. The ball didn’t bounce our way. What I’m most proud of is they left everything out on the floor.”

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Pitcher Chase Meyer no longer with Mountaineer baseball program

Greg Carey — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 21:21:06 +0000

West Virginia baseball is off to a strong start in the 2026 season, but will be moving forward without a prominent piece of its pitching staff.

Mountaineer head coach Steve Sabins confirmed Tuesday pitcher Chase Meyer is no longer with the program.

“Junior right-handed pitcher Chase Meyer is no longer with our baseball program,” Sabins said. “I want to thank Chase for his contributions the past three years to our team and wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

The Mountaineers’ lone selection to the Preseason-All Big 12 Team, Meyer was removed from the team’s official roster earlier in the day.

Meyer was West Virginia’s top rated pro prospect by D1 Baseball, which listed him the Big 12’s No. 7 pro prospect entering this season.

He was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Preseason All-America Second Team.

The right-hander began this season in a limited relief role as a result of a broken finger on his pitching hand suffered not long after Thanksgiving. Meyer appeared in two of WVU’s first 10 games and had a 1-0 record with a 2.70 earned-run average, no hits allowed and five strikeouts over 3.1 innings.

Meyer’s first appearance this season came at Georgia Southern in relief of Ben McDougal with an 0-2 count. He dropped in a curve ball on his first pitch for a called third strike in an outing that amounted to him recording a win.

“Chase Meyer has the best out pitch arguably in the country in his curve ball,” Sabins said.

Meyer’s second and ultimately final outing this season came the following week at Liberty when he went two innings, allowing one run on two walks and a pair of hit batsmen.

In 2025, Meyer led the team in wins, finishing 9-1 across 48 innings over 22 appearances and three starts. He struck out 63, walked 38 and had a 3.94 ERA.

While assuming a far more featured role, Meyer also displayed significant improvement from his freshman season in 2024, which he finished 1-1 with a 8.38 ERA in 19.1 innings. He struck out 28 and walked 24 that year.

“The reality is he’s been our get out of jail free card, because we’ve brought Chase Meyer in every spot where our backs against the wall and it’s basically if you don’t get out of this, you’re going to lose the game,” Sabins said. ”His stuff is so good that you’re OK losing the game because you’re in such a bad situation.”

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Mountaineers look to duplicate high level of urgency and execution at Kansas State

Greg Carey — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 23:28:23 +0000

As in anything, there’s an expected certain level of desperation that comes upon the realization finality is setting in.

West Virginia showcased it from the jump in a 79-71 victory over then-No. 19 and now unranked BYU last Saturday at Hope Coliseum to end a three-game losing streak.

Still thought to be playing meaningful basketball in large part thanks to that result, the Mountaineers are tasked with trying to duplicate the effort twice this week starting Tuesday at Kansas State. Tip-off at Bramlage Coliseum is 8 p.m. for a contest that can be seen on ESPN+.

“They’re human beings, but their commitment level to what we’ve been doing and how we’ve been asking them to do it has been really good — as good as I’ve been around,” first-year WVU head coach Ross Hodge said. “They’re really incredible in hotels, on planes, in locker rooms and how they interact with other people. It wasn’t something I wanted to take for granted. I wanted to make sure that I was giving them everything I have. That was what we asked.

“Let’s make sure our commitment level doesn’t waver. This is the Big 12. You’re going to go through tough stretches and have some tough losses. We’re not looking at an insurmountable mountain that we have to climb. That was where the urgency came in.”

Feb 28, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Ross Hodge yells from the sideline during the second half against the BYU Cougars at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images

Ahead of Friday’s home finale against Central Florida, the Mountaineers seek a regular season sweep against the struggling Wildcats.

Between a 59-54 loss in Morgantown back on January 27 and Tuesday’s second meeting, Kansas State fired head coach Jerome Tang.

The Wildcats (11-18, 2-14) are 1-3 with Matthew Driscoll serving as interim head coach.Driscoll’s first game amounted to perhaps the team’s best showing this season — a 90-74 win against Baylor, but was followed with a 28-point loss at Texas Tech and consecutive nine-point setbacks against Colorado and TCU.

Whereas the Mountaineers (17-12, 8-8) are in a three-way tie with BYU and Cincinnati for eighth place in the Big 12 Conference, the Wildcats can finish no better than 15th and are battling with Utah to avoid last place.

Coming off two of the three highest-scoring games in Big 12 play, WVU is looking to maintain its recent high level of offensive execution.

The Mountaineers amassed 84 points in an overtime loss at Oklahoma State (77 in regulation) prior to defeating the Cougars. Only the 86 in a home win over Kansas back in January account for a higher total in league play than the last two games.

“There’s a do or die mindset we have right now as a team,” said senior guard Honor Huff, WVU’s leading scorer at 15.7 points. “The camaraderie we brought every day over the last 72 hours since the defeat at Oklahoma State and not wanting to let my team down, I came out with a mindset that I’m going to leave it all out there and have some fun. It shows in the plays I was able to make and these guys made.”

While no more than an adequate rebounding team for much of the season, West Virginia dominated the backboards for a 39-29 edge against BYU, including 18-8 on the offensive end. Forward Brenen Lorient had one fewer offensive rebound than the Cougars and was especially effective in the second half, when he scored 14 of his 18 points.

“We got killed on the glass against Utah and TCU,” Lorient said, referencing the Mountaineers’ minus-21 rebounding margin over two recent setbacks. “A big emphasis from coaches has been to get more rebounds and second-chance opportunities.”

The Mountaineers also enjoyed a halftime lead against BYU for only for the fourth time against a Big 12 team this season, with this one 40-26 to account for their largest advantage against a league foe at the break.

West Virginia was also in solid shape through 20 minutes in its first meeting with KSU with a 28-22 lead.

A solid start would go a long way for WVU, which can assure itself of a non-losing Big 12 mark with a second victory over the Wildcats.

“You always want to focus on the next game at hand, but we’re not naive to the fact that we have two games guaranteed in the regular season,” Huff said. “We still have a chance to do something special that we all want to do, which is go to the NCAA Tournament, but we can’t have any slip-ups. Our aggressiveness and assertiveness showed from the jump. I’m not saying it’s because of that, because we should have been doing it from the jump, but we’re in that situation now and we have to make the best of it. We started off right, so we have to get the next two.”

— — — — —

With one three-pointer made, Huff will reach 100 triples for the third straight season and become only the third Mountaineer to do so in a season.

Frank Young’s program record of 117 from 2007 is within reach, while Chris Leonard remains second for the time being with 101 in 1992.

Huff has already set the single season program record for three-point attempts with 276, which he did so with his seventh of 10 attempts from long distance Saturday.

“It’s a testament to the people around me and the confidence they have in me to shoot those threes, because I didn’t go 99 for 99 — I can promise you that,” Huff said. “Their confidence in me to get them up and the work I’ve put in since I was a kid all comes to fruition at this stage. I’m grateful to be able to do that again this year.”

A home loss to Texas Tech is Huff’s lone game without at least one trey this season, while he’s made multiple threes in 26 of 29 contests.

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West Virginia holds off 19th-ranked BYU, 79-71

Greg Carey — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 02:29:17 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia has too often found itself needing second-half comebacks to have a chance down the stretch against competition within the Big 12 Conference.

In Saturday’s contest against 19th-ranked BYU at Hope Coliseum, it was a role reversal for the Mountaineers.

West Virginia built a 14-point halftime lead that was cut to seven less than 2 minutes into the second half. Yet the Mountaineers maintained their composure and consistently scored in the closing minutes to fend off the Cougars for a 79-71 victory.

“I told the guys in the locker room I really felt today was a byproduct of the last 72 hours,” WVU head coach Ross Hodge said. “Handle disappointment in the same manner they handle success. Learn from it and not run from it.“

The Mountaineers (17-12, 8-8) led by three with inside 1 minute remaining and the Cougars came up with a steal that put them in position to tie or draw closer. But only three seconds after BYU (20-9, 8-8) gained possession, Chance Moore sprinted back on defense and forced a Keba Keita turnover.

“That play was symbolic of this team to keep playing, and that was about as big of a keep playing moment as you can have,” Hodge said.

Brenen Lorient’s offensive rebound off an Honor Huff missed shot allowed Huff to make the first of two free throws with 26 seconds remaining, and Lorient’s block of an AJ Dybansta three-point attempt on the next trip gave the ball back to WVU, which sealed the verdict when Jasper Floyd made two free throws for a six-point advantage with 15 seconds.

“I was strapped in on trying to get a stop. It was a crucial moment,” Lorient said. “I saw him slide out and knew he wanted to get something up at the three-point line. I just contested it and blocked the shot.”

The Mountaineers were able to play with a lead for the final 26:41 after outscoring BYU, 20-4, over the final 6:41 of the first half.

Freshman DJ Thomas’ conventional three-point play allowed the Mountaineers to lead 23-22, and Huff ran off the next five points to up the advantage to six.

Thomas made three-pointers on successive possessions to stretch the advantage to 34-24, then added a dunk in the paint to give his team a lead of a dozen.

“DJ was tremendous in the first half,” Hodge said, “and it was kind of one of those baton games where it kept getting passed to other people in big spots for big stretches.”

In holding a 40-26 halftime advantage, WVU had its largest lead at the break in Big 12 play this season. The Mountaineers have led at halftime in only four of 16 Big 12 games, and on Saturday, it came about despite Treysen Eaglestaff and Lorient combining to shoot 1 for 10 through the opening 20 minutes.

But Thomas (11), Floyd (9) and Huff (8) led the way offensively at the break, while the Cougars had eight field goals, nine turnovers and had been outscored 9-0 on second-chance points after recording only two of the game’s 10 offensive rebounds to that point.

“Our decision-making, driving into crowds, turning the ball over and not getting shots on goal, and the defensive intensity was abysmal in the first half,” BYU head coach Kevin Young said. “Those two factors got us off to that start.”

Young’s displeasure was felt and the Cougars scored the first seven points of the second half, pulling to within 40-33 on an Aeksej Kostic triple.

Eaglestaff’s three out of a timeout marked the mountaineers’ first points of the second half, and WVU maintained its separation for much of what remained, including a 58-45 lead after Huff made two foul shots with 9:54 left.

“We knew they were going to make a run,” Huff said. “Weathering that storm, we’ve shown we can do, and I’m glad we did that today.”

The Cougars didn’t go quietly though, displaying the offensive prowess the rest of the way that’s led to much of their success this season.

BYU trailed 60-51 before scoring on six consecutive possessions, the last of which was Keita’s conventional three-point play that brought the visitors to within 71-66 at the 3-minute mark.

Dybansta’s trey with 2:12 left made it a one-possession game at 72-69, before Lorient drove to the basket out of a timeout for a pivotal bucket 35 seconds later.

“Offensively, [our execution] was fine,” Young said. “Defensively, it was a disaster.”

Important basket from Brenen Lorient out of a timeout that gave West Virginia a 74-69 lead in its 79-71 win against No. 19 BYU. pic.twitter.com/jU5oK7FOAi

— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) March 1, 2026

The Cougars never got closer than three the rest of the way in what marked their third loss in four games without Richie Saunders and seventh setback in their last 10.

BYU guard Robert Wright III led all players with 23 points. Dybnasta scored 20, including 16 in the second half.

Kostic made four threes to score 12 points.

Huff led WVU with 19 points and Lorient followed with 18, all but four of which came after halftime.

“It’s definitely tough when you miss a couple early ones, but usually when I don’t get easy ones to go in early, I focus on doing the little things better like rebounding and getting stops on defense,” Lorient said. “That’s my main focus during those times.”

Thomas (13), Floyd (11) and Moore (11) also scored in double figures.

Lorient led all players with nine rebounds and Moore added eight. That duo was pivotal in WVU holding a 39-29 rebounding advantage, including 18-8 on the offensive end. Seven of Lorient’s nine rebounds came on the offensive end.

“That’s why we lost. They had 18 offensive rebounds,” Young said. “We’re usually really good and one of the best teams in the conference with that. They only turned those into 15 second-chance points, but every time we got close, it felt like they got an offensive rebound. You hold their two top guys [Huff and Eaglestaff] to 6 for 23 shooting, and most nights they’ll have a hard time winning. Lorient, Moore and Thomas were men out there and kicked out butt. Credit to them.”

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Photo gallery: George Washington downs University, 67-51

Greg Carey — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 22:12:23 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — George Washington made its trip to Morgantown a successful one Saturday, defeating University 67-51 to improve to 18-2.

Patriots’ senior standout Noah Lewis, a Wright State signee, scored 32 points.

GW led 34-28 at halftime and by eight after three quarters before pulling away in the late stages.

Luke Byrer led the Hawks (15-5) with 24 points.

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As Mountaineers try to move forward from recent struggles, freshman sensation Dybantsa awaits

Greg Carey — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 01:04:33 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia is mired in a three-game losing streak for the first time under head coach Ross Hodge.

To make the slump a thing of the past, the Mountaineers have to find a way to be successful Saturday against No. 19 BYU when the teams battle at 5:30 p.m. Saturday inside Hope Coliseum for a matchup airing on FOX.

That means contending with freshman sensation AJ Dybantsa, the leading scorer in the Big 12 Conference at 25.1 points and one the top pro prospects in all of college basketball in recent memory.

“He’s definitely worthy of all the praise and attention that he’s gotten,” Hodge said. “What impresses you as much as his talent, which is very impressive, is his commitment to his teammates and how he celebrates those guys and his leadership for a young player on top of what he can do individually.”

At 6-foot-9, Dybantsa has a surplus of size for a primary ball-handler. It’s part of what makes his skill set so unique. He shoots north of 53 percent from the field, averages almost seven rebounds and four assists and shoots more than eight free throws per game thanks in large part to an ability to consistently draw contact.

Feb 21, 2026; Provo, Utah, USA; BYU Cougars forward AJ Dybantsa (3) drives while being defended by Iowa State Cyclones forward Joshua Jefferson (5) during the first half at Marriott Center. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Baker-Imagn Images

“He’s a problem in every facet of the game,” Hodge said. “He certainly can distort you in ways that a lot of people can’t because of his size, versatility and fluidity. Typically, in your transition defense, your guards are going to be the ones stopping the ball and he can create an automatic mismatch from the jump because he has the ball in his hands so much.”

The Cougars are relying on Dybantsa even more at present after Richie Saunders suffered a significant season-ending injury. Saunders averaged 18 points and has missed three straight games, and in essence four, as the injury occurred in the first minute of what amounted to an overtime victory against Colorado. Saunders’ 64 three-pointers remain a team high, but Dybantsa has the luxury of another consistent scorer in guard Robert Wright III, who averages 18.1 points and has 50 triples.

BYU averages 84.6 points, good for second among Big 12 teams.

“Do you play [Dybantsa] individually and live with if he gets 35 or 40, or try to shrink gaps and live with are these other guys going to make shots? That is the challenge,” Hodge said. “He’s shown the ability that he can beat you both ways.”

The Cougars (20-8, 8-7) have dropped two of their last three and six of nine since a 17-2 start. Most recently, Central Florida had its way offensively and cruised to a road win over the Cougars, 97-84, on Tuesday.

WVU (16-12, 7-8) has lost three straight by a total of 18 points, most recently suffering a 91-84 overtime setback at Oklahoma State on Tuesday.

The Mountaineers struggled to get stops for much of the contest, with Hodge referring to the first half of that game as his team’s worst defensive half of the season.

Still, much like the game before at TCU, the win was there for the taking late and the Mountaineers were unable to close strong.

West Virginia continues to put itself in position where it’s required to overcome significant second-half deficits, and while the Mountaineers have often caught up or led late, they’ve been unable to pull through recently.

WVU has played eight straight games decided by 10 or fewer points and recorded a 3-5 record over that time.

“The initial aftermath of any loss you’re going to be disappointed, but we’re mature enough and from a leadership standpoint,” Hodge said. “It’s hard not to just fall into the trap of you win and you’re great, you lose and you’re terrible. We’ve been fortunate enough to win some one-possession games that easily could’ve went the other way and the last three games we were in easily could’ve went our way, but they didn’t.

“But you’re not looking at an insurmountable mountain to climb. A block out here, a free throw there, a rebound here, a made shot here, a missed shot here, that’s the difference in what you’re dealing with. Do you have the emotional intelligence and maturity to stay the course and stay together, which this group does better than anybody I’ve been around, and still find a level of excitement in what you’re doing every day. That’s where if you love basketball and love each other and love challenges, then you’re going to be in the right place. There’s going to be a certain level of excitement even in the midst of disappointing times.”

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Commentary: Capital’s regional seeding should be viewed as a disservice

Greg Carey — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 22:24:00 +0000

There’s rarely a dull moment in the West Virginia high school sports scene.

From preseason classification uncertainty to in-season lawsuits, there have been plenty of unusual happenings the last several years, the majority of which have caused quite a stir.

Thursday’s release of the boys basketball regional brackets may take the cake.

Specifically, Capital as the No. 6 seed in Class AAA Region III has drawn plenty of negative attention, and rightfully so.

The Cougars have a 17-4 record and have been at or near the top of Triple-A in both the statewide coaches poll and MetroNews Power Rankings throughout the season. They now find themselves seeded ahead of two of seven teams in their region.

Capital is 12-3 against Quad-A and Triple-A competition and has a win at defending state champion Bridgeport to its credit. The three losses are to Parkersburg South, George Washington and Chapmanville. A strong case can be made those are three of the top 10 programs in the state this season, regardless of class.

Capital’s other setback, along with one of its wins, came against out-of-state competition.

Yet because the Cougars didn’t play any of their seven regional foes, coaches from four of those schools — Shady Spring, Greenbrier East, Princeton and PikeView — found it in them to seed the Cougars last among seven teams (coaches do not seed their team).

“I’m going to call it like I see it — it’s collusion [between] Greenbrier East, Princeton, PikeView and Shady Spring,” Capital Principal Jon Anderson said.

That sentiment certainly wasn’t shared across the region, however. Ripley, Herbert Hoover and Nicholas County had Capital the No. 1 seed.

Ultimately, the Cougars came in at No. 6 and will begin postseason play next Thursday at No. 3 Greenbrier East. The winner would then likely be in line to play at No. 2 Shady Spring for a spot in the state tournament.

Ripley (17-4) is the No. 1 seed in Region III. The Tigers and Spartans both have 14 victories, a number of them quality wins, and either team is good enough to pose a significant challenge to Capital.

At this point, the result of next Thursday’s game and what occurs thereafter is irrelevant as it pertains to the main issue — the Cougars shouldn’t be a No. 6 seed, nor should they be playing a postseason game away from home.

I’d have Capital the No. 1 seed in Region III, and I don’t see any argument for the Cougars being outside the top two.

“If you poll every [other] triple-A team in the state of West Virginia, nobody is going to have us outside of the top three or four,” Anderson said.

Capital defeated Bridgeport, 49-47 (Photo by Ben Queen/www.BenQueenPhotography.com)

But because adults opted to take a stance against the Cougars’ schedule and lack of regional opponents, it’ll almost certainly require Capital to win twice on the road against programs plenty capable of winning at the state tournament.

In the days leading up to seeding, there was talk it could play out this way, so much so that the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission sent an email to Region III schools, in part reminding them “of your responsibility to help protect the integrity of the regional seeding process”, and for seeding to “reflect an accurate assessment based on performance and not personal or program bias.”

Those wishes fell on deaf ears.

“Shame on whoever voted us seventh, because they’re only kids,” Anderson said. “This is kids we’re talking about. I’m a 51-year-old grown man and if somebody doesn’t like me, so be it. But when you mess with my kids, I have a problem.”

I’m not at all opposed to regional regular season matchups being required, but that’s hardly the point here.

Capital has obligations within the Mountain State Athletic Conference, of which it’s the lone member among Region III teams. The Cougars also competed at the 4A level last season.

Under no circumstance should the Cougars be negatively impacted in seeding by traveling 2 hours north to play at a defending state champion that isn’t a regional or conference foe, particularly when that game results in a win.

Essentially, Capital could’ve forfeited regular season games from mid-January on, and it would have an identical or similar seed to what it got.

Would the Cougars resume truly be better with victories over any of the four Region III teams (Princeton, Herbert Hoover, Nicholas County and PikeView) not above the .500 mark? Of course not.

If the results of non-regional games don’t matter, why play them?

“It’s ridiculous. As a coach, that’s cowardly, man,” said Braxton County’s Josh Lunceford, head coach of a Double-A program unaffected by this particular matter. “How do you take a team that plays a 4A and 3A schedule and has been No. 1 in the state all year long in 3A, and you’re going to vote them seventh in your region? There’s no integrity there. Something is going to have to happen, because that should never be a thing. I don’t know if they have to go to mathematical stuff or whatever, but that should never happen.”

Altering the format to go away from coaches voting will gain popularity and has before. Other teams will take issue with their seeding and can claim to have a legitimate gripe, too, with Buckhannon-Upshur one that comes to mind in Quad-A.

But all of those pale in comparison to what happened to Capital.

The significance of basketball’s regular season is already somewhat diminished considering every school qualifies for the postseason.

Perhaps a point system similar to football or a different method to determine seeding will come into place down the line and bring about more fairness.

The current one clearly lacks it.

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Braxton County never trails in 76-56 win over Titans

Greg Carey — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 04:23:25 +0000

SUTTON, W.Va. — Braxton County entered Friday’s home game with Gilmer County on a three-game losing streak.

Well aware his team hadn’t shown the ability to consistently execute against zone defense over that stretch, Eagles’ head coach Josh Lunceford elected to have his team put a heavy emphasis on doing exactly that throughout this week in practice.

The results were far more favorable against the Titans, with the Eagles scoring at last 20 points in each of the first three quarters and shooting 50 percent in a 76-56 victory.

“We’ve been working a bunch against zone,” Lunceford said. “We’ve struggled with it the last two or three games. We literally practice against it every day, and then we get in a game recently and it’s like we’ve never seen anybody play zone. We changed a couple things up over the last three or four days in practice. We’re doing a few things different, kind of playing more toward our strengths as a team.”

BCHS (15-6) never trailed and opened the game with six straight points, though the Titans (6-14) were even shortly after courtesy of a Tyler Ratliff three-pointer and another from Jacob Mick.

After Zack McQuain and Owen Lowther each countered with a three, the Eagles were on top to stay, and they got eight first-quarter points from James Nettles to lead by 11 before Kolton Holbert’s conventional three-point play brought GCHS to within 20-12 after one.

Eagles’ reserve Ashton Stewart started the second-quarter scoring with back-to-back triples, and when Lowther connected from longe range for Braxton’s next trey, the Titans faced a 31-16 deficit.

“We like to spread the floor and use our athleticism,” Lunceford said. ”That’s our thing and what we’ve done most of the year. As a coach, you’re supposed to take away what a team does well. That’s what your goal should be. I’ve said all year long, I couldn’t believe teams weren’t zoning us, and that’s all we’ve seen the last bit here. Word spreads quick. I was almost guaranteeing they’d come out in a zone and we brought them out of it. That’s what we want to accomplish where we’re just as effective against a zone as we are against man-to-man.”

Gilmer trailed 35-21 when Mick made a jumper, but the Eagles got six straight points from Austin Smart and a paint bucket from Nettles to hold a commanding 43-21 halftime advantage.

Through two quarters, Braxton was shooting 18 for 33, while mixing in quality half court execution with transition offense and a dominant rebounding advantage that created an abundance of second chances. The Eagles’ had 19 first-half rebounds to nine for the Titans and a 33-18 edge on the boards for the game.

“If we wanted to be successful in this game, we had to hold them to one shot,” Gilmer head coach Austin Ratliff said. “It’s hard to do that when they have 6-8, 6-4 and 6-3 down there, but at the end of the day it comes down to fundamental basketball and you have to box out when the shot goes up. We did a poor job of that tonight. BC is a very good team and they shot the ball extremely well. The good thing about tonight is it doesn’t hurt our regional seeding. This is a game we can learn from.”

Braxton led 65-37 after three quarters, before Titans’ freshman Jeren Hutchins scored eight fourth-quarter points to help his team win that period, 19-11.

“We started to hit the open cutters and we started cutting better to the basket,” coach Ratliff said.

The Eagles made 30-of-60 shots and had four double-figure scorers. McQuain led Braxton with 16 points and Nettles scored 14 to go with a game-high nine rebounds. Lowther contributed 12 points and Stewart added 11.

Braxton’s Stevie Boggs, a 6-foot-7 senior, did not play in the second half.

“Stevie has a stress fracture in his foot,” Lunceford said. “We go in up 22 at halftime and I told him in the locker room, ‘I’m not going to play you the rest of this one.’ I told the guys go out there and take care of business. He’s a linchpin for us.”

Holbert’s 17 points led all players and Mick scored 11. The Titans shot a plenty respectable 47.7 percent (21 for 44), but turned it over 17 times.

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Dominant second quarter allows Bridgeport to blow by Fairmont Senior, 69-47

Greg Carey — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 04:00:44 +0000

FAIRMONT, W.Va. — Bridgeport junior Aryon Dodd was scoreless in the opening quarter of Wednesday’s matchup at Fairmont Senior, though that didn’t stop the Indians from holding a five-point lead through 8 minutes.

Dodd then opened the second-quarter scoring with a three-pointer. It was a sign of things to come throughout that frame, which Bridgeport began with 17 unanswered points, nine of which Dodd scored off a trio of treys.

The sharpshooter made two more threes in the frame to give him five, the last of which left the Indians with a 37-13 lead, and they hardly looked back in handling the Polar Bears at the Fairmont Senior Field House, 69-47.

“We got in a rhythm and we can shoot the ball pretty well when we take the right shots,” BHS head coach Dave Marshall said. “We did that. I didn’t realize it was 17 unanswered, but when you shoot the ball well, it makes a lot of other things easy, and even more so on the defensive side.

“We took good shots and a lot of those shots were off paint touches and inside-out. We got the ball in the paint and kicked it out and there’s something about shooting those, the statistics show all over the place that those are your higher percentage shots. We did that and it helps to make them. Some days you get those shots and still don’t make them and it can frustrate you.”

The result gives BHS (17-4) a regular season sweep of FSHS, which fell to 11-8.

Dodd and teammate Gavin Williams combined for the first 14 points of the second quarter, 12 of which came from triples. When BHS freshman Daniel Riley scored from close range off a steal, Fairmont Senior was faced with a 31-9 deficit.

“We had nothing to lose and could play free and clear, and we weren’t,” Polar Bears’ head coach Dave Retton said. “The second half, we did a better job of competing. The first half, we didn’t compete. I didn’t have our guys ready to play and it was reflected.”

Mason Washenitz scored the first point of the period for the Polar Bears on a free throw and later accounted for the team’s first basket of the frame on a three.

A conventional three-point play from Washenitz with 1:11 left in the half allowed the Polar Bears to trail 39-20, before Bodhi Sickles’ follow-up basket with time winding down enabled the visitors to take a 21-point lead into halftime.

At the break, the Indians had more threes (8) than the Polar Bears had field goals (7).

“We know we have more than one guy that can do it well,” Marshall said of the importance of three-point shooting to his squad. “You immediately try to play to your strengths. We had a team four or five years ago that could shoot the three real well, but had less size than we even have right now, and we couldn’t get to the basket the way we do right now. We have a little bit more of the other dimensions — not just off penetration, off cutting and intelligent basketball. But it’s only going to help if you can shoot the basketball.”

Fairmont Senior standout Darrell Claybrook was scoreless through the first two quarters, but scored 11 points in the third, including the final five over a 27-second stretch to help the Polar Bears outscore the Indians by three in the frame and trail 56-38 with 8 minutes left.

“He’s at the top of our scouting report, but you can’t only guard that guy, because they have a lot of other guys that can shoot and do other things,” Marshall said. “But he’s at the top of your list. We were fortunate he didn’t score. There were things we did to try to take away some penetration, but we tried to do that the first time we played him and it didn’t do much good.”

The home team got no closer than 17 in the fourth quarter, which featured six points from Williams, who led all players with 23.

Dodd followed with 17, Anderson McDougal scored 10 and dished out seven assists and Riley also scored 10.

“When he is tuned in, moving the ball and has a high assist number, we’re pretty good,” Marshall said in reference to McDougal.

Bridgeport had only three turnovers and made 28 field goals.

Claybrook’s 15 points were a team high.

“I’m not saying the game was over, but with the lack of competitiveness in the first half, you can’t not compete against someone and then expect to come back in two quarters and put yourselves in position to be successful and win,” Retton said. “You can’t do that against a good team — and they’re a very good team.”

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Mountaineers miss out on another opportunity in 91-84 overtime loss at Oklahoma State

Greg Carey — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 05:21:25 +0000

Another opportunity squandered.

A theme for West Virginia lately surfaced again Tuesday night at Oklahoma State.

The Mountaineers fought back from a 14-point second-half deficit to force overtime, but finished with two baskets and three turnovers during an extra session they never led in, and the Cowboys prevailed, 91-84 at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

“Got it into overtime and felt good, and they were able to execute better down the stretch than we were,” WVU head coach Ross Hodge said on postgame radio. “They got the ball to where they wanted and converted. We got the ball where we wanted to and didn’t convert.”

The result leaves WVU (16-12, 7-8) with its first three-game losing streak this season, while the Cowboys (17-11, 5-10) brought an end to a five-game skid.

WVU trailed 33-31 with inside 5 minutes to play in the first half, but starting with Anthony Roy’s layup at the 4:45 mark, OSU outscored the Mountaineers 13-2 over what remained of the half. The Cowboys accounted for nine straight points to end the half, including a Jaylen Curry three for a 46-33 advantage at the break.

Oklahoma State was 17 for 29 from the field with four threes and 8 of 9 on free throws in the opening half. Additionally, the Cowboys had six players with at least five points and only two turnovers through 20 minutes.

“The first half was probably as poor of a half defensively as we’ve played,” Hodge said. “They’re a good offensive team and they play with a lot of pace and confidence. We allowed them to establish a little too much of a rhythm and didn’t make them miss. Jasper [Floyd’s] foul trouble really hurt us. Our point of attack defense wasn’t good enough. It was just too easy.”

WVU trailed by 14 on separate occasions in the second half, but after Christian Coleman converted a dunk off a second-chance opportunity to leave the home team on top 55-46, the Mountaineers countered with 10 straight points. That stretch began with Honor Huff’s three, before DJ Thomas and Chance Moore combined for seven straight points, including Thomas’ layup that gave the Mountaineers their first lead since 22-20 with 10:48 remaining in regulation.

Five was the largest lead on either side of what remained in regulation, with the Cowboys having it at 68-63 and 77-72, the latter occurring after a Kanye Clary trey with 3:06 remaining.

But Oklahoma State never scored again in regulation, missing all four of its shots, while WVU forward Chance Moore scored the final five points of regulation, including a driving basket with 19 seconds left to tie the game at 77.

After giving two fouls in the final seconds, the Mountaineers forced Clary into a challenged three that was off the mark as time expired.

But any momentum garnered from the strong finish to regulation quickly vanished in overtime, which began with Roy’s conventional three-point play that allowed the Cowboys to play from in front.

Not until Moore made the second of two free throws with 1:34 left did WVU score in overtime, at which point it trailed, 84-78. Floyd’s layup with 19 seconds left marked the first WVU field goal of OT.

Oklahoma State center Parsa Fallah dunked in the final seconds to set the score, but appeared to suffer a significant non-contact injury on the play.

Huff’s 20 points were a team high, while Treysen Eaglestaff followed with 18. Moore scored 14 off the bench, but was 2 for 6 on free throws, including a miss with 1:08 left in regulation that could’ve cut a two-point deficit in half.

Brenen Lorient added 12 to make it four double-figure scorers in defeat.

WVU shot north of 48 percent (33 for 68) and made 12-of-31 threes.

“Minus the overtime execution, offensively, we executed pretty well for the whole game,” Hodge said. “We took good care of the ball and had good looks.”

Six OSU players scored in double figures — Fallah (18), Clary (17), Curry (15), Andrija Vukovic (12), Roy (10) and Coleman (10).

The Cowboys enjoyed a decisive advantage on free throws by making 19 of 27 compared to WVU finishing 6 for 12.

Since the Mountaineers made 16-of-19 free throws in their most recent win at Central Florida, they are 22 for 39 on free throws over their last three games. Over that same stretch, WVU opponents have made 51-of-75 foul shots.

“When you get in close, one-possession games, it certainly hurts when you’re splitting,” Hodge said, “or going 0 for 2 from the foul line.”

West Virginia is 0-2 in overtime and 5-9 in games decided by 10 or fewer points.

The 91 points were the most scored against the Mountaineers this season.

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Strong start sends North Marion past Robert C. Byrd 77-67 for 10th consecutive win

Greg Carey — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 03:56:35 +0000

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — Both North Marion and Robert C. Byrd were away from the hardwood for two straight days ahead of Tuesday’s matchup.

If there was thought that both teams would show signs of rust early on, the Huskies put it to rest quickly.

North Marion jumped out to a 20-3 advantage, shot almost 58 percent in the first half and 53 percent altogether to handle business in a 77-67 victory against the Eagles that marks the Huskies’ 10th straight win.

“We made shots and we rushed them,” Huskies’ head coach Steve Harbert said of factors that aided the strong start. “They rushed some shots and we did a great job rebounding early and executed our transition offense.”

Eli Ramsey and Maddox Batson each made a three-pointer to open the scoring, and after Rylee Dickerson accounted for the first RCB basket, North Marion (17-2) ran off 10 unanswered points, including a Ramsey layup for the 20-3 lead.

“For whatever reason, we came out flat as flat can be,” Eagles’ head coach Basil Lucas said. “They were aggressive and hit some shots and threes right off the bat, and instead of us turning around and attacking on offense, we hung our heads a little bit too much.”

The Huskies settled for a 23-10 advantage through one quarter, and the Eagles (13-7) were within single digits at 26-17 when Manny Holmes made a trey with 4:05 left in the first half.

But NMHS controlled what remained of the opening half, starting with a conventional three-point play from Jacob Kucish at the 3:11 mark. Kucish added another with 2:06 left that left his team leading 34-19, and Ramsey banked in a triple just before the buzzer sounded to send the Huskies into the locker room with a commanding 41-24 advantage.

Ramsey was 7 for 9 with 16 points at halftime to aid an efficient North Marion attack that was 15 for 26 overall.

“Any guy that we bring into a game, they know the shots that they can take. If it’s within the offense and within range and rhythm, we encourage them to take those shots,” Harbert said. “We’re playing confident offensively.”

The third quarter was essentially even, and the Huskies were on top 55-37 with 8 minutes remaining.

RCB didn’t go away quietly down the stretch, and the home team mustered 30 fourth-quarter points, half of which Logan Boyce provided with five threes.

The second of Boyce’s fourth-quarter treys left the Eagles trailing 61-48, while the fourth came with exactly 1 minute remaining and trimmed the NMHS advantage to 71-61. But the closest the Eagles got was eight on a Holmes’ triple with 17 seconds remaining.

“I commend them for the effort and I’m proud of the effort in the second half,” Lucas said. “When it gets away quick like it did in the first quarter, a lot of teams would’ve gotten pounded. We had it to a three-possession game in the fourth quarter and North Marion had to start thinking, what’s going to happen, I can’t believe they’re back in this now. That hole was just too big for us to overcome.”

Ramsey led all players with 31 points, made 10-of-15 shots and dished out a game-high seven assists.

“Eli’s a great teammate and does a good job of leading as well,” Harbert said. “I guarantee if you asked him, he would credit his teammates for helping get him open. When you make shots, team have to stretch out a little bit, and that really opens up the inside for him, Conner and other guys to drive. He did a good job all night.”

Kucish scored 18 on 7-for-10 shooting, while Connor Balwanz added 10 and Batson scored nine.

Cole Morris grabbed a game-high seven rebounds in the win and was instrumental in the Huskies winning the board battle, 33-24.

NMHS made 27-of-51 shots and 16-of-22 free throws, while the Eagles shot 24 for 51 from the field, but 9 for 19 on free throws.

Boyce led the Eagles with 23 points, Dickerson scored 16 and Holmes contributed 14.

RCB has lost four straight.

The result wraps up an unbeaten regular season within the Big 10 Conference for North Marion at 11-0.

“We wanted to play fast and free and win this game to go undefeated in the Big 10,” Harbert said, “so that it wasn’t us and Bridgeport as co-champs.”

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As opportunities dwindle, Mountaineers in need of better results starting Tuesday at Oklahoma State

Greg Carey — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 23:27:41 +0000

West Virginia has played at a methodical pace throughout the 2025-26 campaign, one that’s allowed the Mountaineers to achieve adequate enough defensive numbers for success while the team often struggles to score.

Yet if the Mountaineers are to avoid losing control of the season and aspire to play meaningful basketball in March, they need to start generating favorable results in a hurry, starting with Tuesday’s 7 p.m. matchup against Oklahoma State. The contest at Gallasgher-Iba Arena will air nationally on CBS Sports Network.

WVU (16-11, 7-7) did itself no favors last week with what could widely be considered its most disappointing two-game stretch this season — a 61-56 home loss to Utah and a 60-54 setback Saturday at TCU in which the Horned Frogs won the final 4-plus minutes, 12-2.

“I told our team the beauty of being in the Big 12 is you’re going to get quality opportunities,” first-year WVU head coach Ross Hodge said. “We had one [Saturday] and didn’t take advantage of it. More opportunities are in our grasp and in our reach, but eventually, you have to take advantage of the opportunities. I did feel like we had an opportunity to get one and we weren’t able to do that, but more opportunities are on the way and obviously Tuesday night in Stillwater will be another opportunity.”

It marked the sixth time over the last eight games the Mountaineers were held to fewer than 60 points, while they managed 63 during in another game over that stretch.

WVU is averaging a shade under 59 points over its last eight games after scoring 67 over its first six within the Big 12.

Against the Horned Frogs, an inability to execute down the stretch made all the difference as the visitors lost a 52-48 advantage and conference games in consecutive fashion for the first time this season. Over the two games last week, the Mountaineers made 42-of-101 shots and only 10-of-44 three-pointers, while turning it over 24 times, 16 of which came at TCU.

“Ultimately, we had 10 offensive possessions after we went up five or six, and we turned the ball over on four of ten possessions,” Hodge said. “You can’t do that in a close game against a quality team.”

If the Mountaineers can’t generate more offense Tuesday, they’ll almost certainly have a tough team keeping up. The Cowboys (16-11, 4-10) are the Big 12’s third-highest scoring team at 83.4 points, but surrender the highest total at 82.6. Excluding non-conference play, OSU averages 76.4 points and surrenders 84.2. WVU is at 62.4 points scored and 66.6 allowed within Big 12 games.

The Cowboys left themselves in prime position to qualify for the NCAA Tournament through the first half of Big 12 play, but have dropped five straight since a seven-point home victory against nationally-ranked BYU.

During the skid, Oklahoma State has allowed at least 81 points in all five contests, with Saturday’s 83-69 loss at Colorado the latest example of the Cowboys struggling to get stops.

The Buffaloes shot 48 percent, made 11-of-27 threes and had 20 of the game’s 28 assists, while the Cowboys were held to 38 percent shooting, made 5-of-23 triples and turned it over 15 times.

OSU gained a one-point second-half lead after overcoming a 17-point deficit, and the contest was tied as the 13-minute mark neared, before the Cowboys shot 3 for 21 the rest of the way.

Feb 21, 2026; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Steve Lutz calls out in the second half against the Colorado Buffaloes at the CU Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

“They did a good job defensively, but we missed some shots that we’ve made throughout the course of the season and we certainly had some costly turnovers where you get a chance to maybe go up two, three or four, and we shot ourselves in the foot unfortunately,” Cowboys’ head coach Steve Lutz said. “But it’s part of basketball and we have to get our heads up and figure out a way to beat West Virginia.”

The teams play at total opposite speeds, with WVU ranking No. 362 out of 365 Division I teams in adjusted tempo and Oklahoma State 10th in that category, according to KenPom.

Anthony Roy leads Oklahoma State in scoring at 17 points and the 6-foot-5 senior is among the better shooters in the Big 12 with 77 threes made at a 40.1 percent clip.

The Cowboys also possess a productive interior threat in Parsa Fallah, a 6-10 senior averaging 14.5 points and six rebounds while shooting 60 percent from the field.

Sophomore Vyctorius Miller is the team’s third player averaging double-figure scoring at 12 points, though he’s struggled of late, scoring 36 points over the last five contests.

There is a recent history between Hodge and Lutz. North Texas, then coached by Hodge, defeated Oklahoma State 61-59 in a NIT quarterfinal last season.

“You have opportunities, but you have to start taking advantage of them,” Hodge said, “because eventually your opportunities can run out.”

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With strong showing against Oklahoma State, WVU builds confidence, hangs in Big 12 race

Greg Carey — Sun, 22 Feb 2026 19:38:02 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In handling Oklahoma State from start to finish Saturday at Hope Coliseum, 19th-ranked West Virginia bolstered its postseason resume with a resounding 72-40 victory over a Cowgirls’ team all but assured of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.

Factoring in that the opponent has 21 wins and 10 in the Big 12, it was unquestionably among the Mountaineers’ top performances this season. The victory allows WVU (22-6, 12-4) to stay squarely in the race for a Big 12 regular season championship.

“I don’t know that we ever use the term or statement win or that would ever come out of my mouth,” WVU head coach Mark Kellogg said when asked if he viewed the result as such. “Is it a good win? Yes. Is [Oklahoma State] a really quality basketball team? Yes. Were we good for longer stretches in this game? Yes. So there was really good stuff from this, but when you think statement or relax and you’re not going to focus on the next one, for us it’s process driven. We got one against a really good team at home, which we needed to get.”

League leader TCU is 12-3 in the conference and plays Sunday against Iowa State. While the Horned Frogs have the tiebreaker in the event of one with WVU by virtue of a pair of head-to-head wins, the Mountaineers would be assured of at least a share of the Big 12 title with a 2-0 finish over the next week and one TCU loss.

West Virginia next plays Wednesday at Central Florida before wrapping up the regular season next Sunday when it welcomes Cincinnati. The Mountaineers have defeated both this season, with the two teams combining for eight Big 12 victories, six of which the Bearcats account for.

“We still want a Big 12 title. If TCU were to lose and we have to split it multiple ways, that’s still a Big 12 title,” Kellogg said. “That’s goal one is always to be a Big 12 regular season championship and when you get done with that, there are other ones like getting a double bye in the Big 12 tournament. We’ve talked brackets and seedings, but not too worried about that. We really just want to win the next one but we understand all of those things. We’ve put ourselves in position to get to talk about it on February 21. That’s maybe the most exciting piece. We’re talking Big 12 titles with two games to go.”

The win over Oklahoma State was equally dominant on both ends, highlighted by 20 for 30 shooting in the first half with nine three-pointers. WVU scored the final 12 points of the half to lead 49-23 at the break, and its defense helped cool off the high-powered Cowgirls from the outset.

Oklahoma State entered among the more potent offenses in all of college basketball with an average of more than 83 points, but finished with more turnovers (16) than field goals (15) while shooting 23.1 percent.

At times, the Cowgirls simply missed clean looks. At others, they appeared overwhelmed.

“We were sped up. Their defense does that to everyone,” Cowgirls’ head coach Jacie Hoyt said.

It was a welcome sign for Kellogg, whose team has plenty to play for down the stretch and currently has a NET rating of 20.

“This time of year, I want them to be physically fresh and mentally excited and prepared of course,” he said. “If you can do that, you’re in a great spot in late February.”

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Mountaineers falter down the stretch in 60-54 setback at TCU

Greg Carey — Sun, 22 Feb 2026 01:26:26 +0000

This time around, West Virginia didn’t find itself in catchup mode for most of the matchup.

Instead, the Mountaineers failed to finish Saturday against TCU after leading for more than 7 minutes in the second half.

The Horned Frogs responded to a late four-point deficit by outscoring WVU 12-2 over the final 4:17, and that dominant stretch made all the difference in their 60-54 victory at Schollmaier Arena.

“Down the stretch, they did a better job executing and they got the ball close to the basket and we did not,” WVU head coach Ross Hodge said on postgame radio.

After Honor Huff made a three-pointer to give the visitors a 52-48 lead with 5:42 remaining, the Mountaineers made 1-of-6 shots and had three turnovers the rest of the way.

“Somebody has to be able to make a physical play, drive the ball with physicality and make the official make a choice,” Hodge said.

Meanwhile, TCU’s Brock Harding scored twice at the rim to tie the game at 52, before David Punch converted from close range for the Horned Frogs to lead by two with 2:35 left.

TCU capitalized on a second-chance — a theme throughout the contest — for a late four-point lead, which came when Punch scored in the paint again at the 1:36 mark.

Brenen Lorient’s layup with 25 seconds left marked the only WVU points down the stretch and brought the Mountaineers to within two, but Harding made two free throws 8 seconds later, and Jayden Pierre two more after Jasper Floyd’s turnover.

TCU (17-10, 7-7) trailed 21-16 before scoring 10 unanswered points and gaining a five-point advantage after a Harding triple.

“For large stretches of the game, it kind of felt like who actually wants to win this game today? I didn’t think either team played very well for most of the night,” Hodge said.

The Horned Frogs led by seven twice and 30-25 at halftime, though that advantage was gone 5 minutes into the second half following a Huff triple that knotted the contest at 34.

WVU gained its first second-half lead at 42-40 on a Lorient layup, and the led grew to six at the 8:03 mark after DJ Thomas scored inside.

TCU got back to within one before Huff connected from long range with 5:42 remaining, but things went south for the Mountaineers from that point forward.

It marks the second time WVU (16-11, 7-7) has lost consecutive games and the first instance in Big 12 play.

Huff scored a team-high 13 points in defeat and Lorient added 10. Chance Moore contributed nine.

The Mountaineers had 20 field goals and 16 turnovers.

“We got too passive. The ball is moving east and west and none of it is vertical,” Hodge said. “Somebody has to be able to physically attack a gap with some pace.“

WVU has failed to score 60 points in eight of 14 Big 12 games and six of its last eight. The Mountaineers are 2-6 in those eight games.

TCU had four double-figure scorers led by 14 from both Xavier Edmonds and Liutauras Lelevicius, who made half of his team’s six threes on four attempts. Punch scored 12 and Harding 11, with that duo combining for 16 after halftime.

The Horned Frogs enjoyed decisive advantages rebounding (39-28) and on free throws, where they made 18-of-27 attempts to the Mountaineers’ 9 of 12. Nineteen of the Horned Frogs’ boards were on the offensive end, helping them overcome 34 percent field-goal shooting.

“Too many times, they won 1-on-1 situations and kind of pushed us under the basket,” Hodge said.

Edmonds led all players with 13 boards.

“Our inability to rebound the basketball was the difference in the game,” Hodge said.

TCU has won five straight at home against the Mountaineers.

“The truth is, you can play hard, but at some point you have to play good,” Hodge said. “We didn’t play good enough for long enough today.“

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No. 19 West Virginia starts strong, never looks back in 72-40 dismantling of Oklahoma State

Greg Carey — Sat, 21 Feb 2026 22:41:20 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Its last time out, 19th-ranked West Virginia squandered a six-point halftime lead and lost at TCU, preventing WVU from controlling its destiny in the Big 12 Conference regular season race.

The Mountaineers played like a team eager to jump back into action Saturday afternoon at Hope Coliseum when they welcomed Oklahoma State.

West Virginia jumped all over the Cowgirls from the opening tip, making its first six shots and never coming close to trailing in a 72-40 victory.

“We put the TCU game behind us in a good way and maybe used it as a little motivation,” Mountaineer head coach Mark Kellogg said.

West Virginia (22-6, 12-4) made its first six field-goal attempts, a stretch that included a Gia Cooke three-pointer that was banked in, which left the Mountaineers with an 8-0 lead at that time.

“We started a little off the past couple games and off this bye week, we were excited to play,” Cooke said. “We had a lot of momentum and kept our foot on the gas and never took it off. We made shots and made the right reads.”

When Carter McCray scored in the paint with 4:16 left in the first quarter, WVU had its first double-digit advantage at 16-6.

The Mountaineers led 20-6, before OSU (21-8, 10-6) drew to within 23-12 when Haleigh Timmer closed the first-quarter scoring with a triple.

WVU led 37-23 after Oklahoma State got a jumper from Stailee Heard 2:40 before halftime.

Starting with Cooke’s second made triple off the backboard in response, the home team closed the opening half by running off a dozen unanswered points, a stretch that included two buckets from Kierra ‘MeMe’ Wheeler, another one from Cooke and Sydney Shaw’s trey just before time expired that left the Cowgirls facing a 49-23 halftime deficit.

“I called the second one,” Cooke said of her threes off the backboard. “I didn’t call the first one. We talked at halftime like, are you doing this on purpose?”

Through two quarters, WVU made 20-of-30 shots, including 9 of 16 from long range and had 16 assists.

“We had ball movement and an understanding spots on the floor we wanted to attack going in,” Kellogg said. “Credit the players for making the right plays. Oklahoma State switched to zone for majority of that game. It slowed us for a little bit and we kind of got going when we figured our footing there.”

OSU, meanwhile, went to the break shooting 9 for 30 with nine turnovers.

“West Virginia was really good today. They could not miss in the first half,” Oklahoma State head coach Jacie Hoyt said. “They came out looking like a team off a loss and a bye week. We couldn’t make anything. Then it’s just really hard to recover after you have a half like that. The game was pretty much over in the first half. “

Playing without injured guard Jadyn Wooten for the first time this season, the Cowgirls struggled to grow comfortable offensively. Wooten averages 12.1 points and 5.1 assists.

“There couldn’t be a worse team to play without Jayden because of their press,” Hoyt said.

OSU, which entered averaging 83.4 points, did not surpass 23 until nearly halfway through the third quarter when Amari Whiting converted a follow-up attempt to make it 55-25.

In the third, the Cowgirls were held to five points on 2 for 17 shooting shot 2 for 17 and they faced a 62-28 deficit through 30 minutes.

“You have to find ways to be disruptive with your defense and we found ways to be disruptive,” Kellogg said.

Cooke led all players with 21 points. Five of her seven field goals were threes — the second-highest single game total for Cooke in a Mountaineer uniform.

Wheeler scored 18 on 9-of-14 shooting and led all players with 10 rebounds.

Jordan Harrison scored 12 to make it three double-figure scorers. She also had seven assists — one more than OSU.

Sydney Shaw scored nine over 21-plus minutes, and did not return after exiting the third quarter with an injury to her head and mouth area that led to stitches.

“She wasn’t medically cleared to return,” said Kellogg, who had no further update on her status.

Heard’s 13 points led OSU, which finished with 15 field goals, 16 turnovers and 17 offensive rebounds that led to only four second-chance points.

“We practiced guarding the three-point line and we knew they were good in transition,” Wheeler said. “We knew what they were good at and wanted to take that away.”

WVU donned pink jerseys and encouraged fans to wear pink in support of breast cancer. All five Mountaineer starters were joined by at least one breast cancer survivor as they were introduced.

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GW doubles up on team titles; Elkins girls repeat, RCB boys on top

Greg Carey — Sat, 21 Feb 2026 05:13:18 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — George Washington swim coach Doug Price felt the Patriots’ boys and girls teams both had a chance to be in the mix for team titles this year at the WVSSAC State Swim Meet at Peak Health Aquatic Center at Mylan Park.

As it turned out, both GW squads did much more than remain in the mix, instead finishing on top of Division I to notch both boys and girls team championships.

George Washington’s boys totaled 83 points to narrowly edge defending state champion and runner-up Bridgeport (79), with Morgantown also well in the mix with 75 points.

As for the girls, it was an even tighter race, with the Patriots accumulating 58 points to edge runner-up Parkersburg (57), Morgantown (55), Bridgeport (54) and Fairmont Senior (51).

“When we knew where people were seeded, the message was if you can hold your seed, then you can have a chance,” Price said. “We knew our competition with the boys was going to be Bridgeport and Morgantown. But with the girls, it was wide open.”

Patriots’ standout Kenneth McGlothen, who will prolong his swim career at West Virginia University, closed his career in the fashion he desired and won the 100 backstroke at 49.77.

A second-place finish from freshman Liam Dailey in the 500 freestyle provided seven points and Sam Lopinsky took third in the 100 breaststroke for an additional six points.

The Patriots also gained 14 pivotal points courtesy of a second-place finish in the final event — the 400 freestyle relay.

GW entered Friday with a team-high 39 points thanks in large part to its win in the 200 medley relay and McGlothen’s victory in the 200 IM.

Through one day, the GW girls were in second with 30 points, trailing Bridgeport, which led with 40.

“At this point, it’s a motivational thing where you’re telling people, ‘hey you need to do this, and if they do this, then something can fall into place.’ I think everybody hoped for it, but I’m not sure anybody expected it,” Price said.

The Patriots benefited from a second-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay that amounted to 14 points, while a fourth-place finish from Reese Holbert in the 100 backstroke brought about another five points.

A fifth-place finish in the final event — the 400 freestyle relay — added another eight points to GW’s total.

It was perhaps the best example of every swimmer having the chance to make their mark, including Ava Mitias finishing eighth in the 100 backstroke for what proved to be a pivotal point in the end.

“Everyone gives good effort. Some girls are year-round swimmers and some of them are high school athletes that play other sports and when we can put them all together, they do really well,” Price said. “Our top girls points wise were Reese Holbert and Presley Pendell, but every single point was valuable.”

Parkersburg’s Levi Moor set a new state meet record with a time of 4:36.36 to win the 500 freestyle by more than 20 seconds.

Parkersburg’s Levi Moor. Photo by Greg Carey

“Ever since last year when I was at 4:38, it was definitely a goal this year to get it,” Moor said. “It’s a big sigh of relief. I’m so happy I can be with my best friends to get it. The race itself was just amazing. From the first 50 to the last 50, I gave it all I had.”

Saint Albans’ John Humphreys finished the 100 breastreoke in 58.11 to take first, while finishing .02 seconds better than what he had earlier Friday during preliminaries.

The Bridgeport quartet of James Hadjis, Patrick Hammond, Cole Parsons and Nate Dodson took first in the 200 freestyle relay (1:29.28).

Morgantown won the 400 freestyle relay as Solomon Roston, Owen Gregory, Lincoln Alugbuo and Christian Hammer combined to finish in 3:17.67.

Moor wasn’t the only Parkersburg sophomore with a memorable state meet. That distinction also belonged to Delaney Snodgrass of the PHS girls team.

After winning the 200 freestyle Thursday, Snodgrass was first in the 500 freestyle at 4:59.48.

Fairmont Senior sophomore Claire Ciemania also continued to excel and took first in the 100 backstroke (56.28), while teaming with Giana Armistead, Lily Rosenberger and Hailey Rogers to give the Polar Bears a first-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay at 1:45.34.

University junior Monica Fisher won the 100 breaststroke at 1:08.89, while the group of Lily Kozel, Maya Nalcakan, Avery Householder and Ellie Perella gave Morgantown a win in the 400 freestyle relay at 3:52.74 to edge Parkersburg by .24 seconds. Had the Big Reds finished first, they win the team championship.

— — — — —

In Division 2, Robert C. Byrd’s boys broke through for the program’s first state championship, while the Elkins made it three straight team titles.

The Eagles won by a wide margin, totaling 119 points for a comfortable victory ahead of runner-up Elkins (77).

Robert C. Byrd’s boys won the Division 2 team championship. Photo by Greg Carey

RCB entered Friday with 63 points and was in front by 23 after Armondo Montero won the 100 butterfly.

Montero teamed with Owen Dodd, Samuel Griffith and Anthony D’Anselmi to give the Eagles a commanding win in the 200 freestyle relay at 1:35.40, while Montero, Dodd, Griffith and Branner Rock capped the event with a win in the 400 freestyle relay with a finish of 3:31.51 — good for a nearly 20-second victory.

“Armondo Montero won an event and got second in an event and we had other boys up there, but then you saw those sixth, sixth, seventh and eighth places add up,” Eagles’ coach John Kroll said. “We knew we had strong relays because we have a good core, but we also have the depth. It was a mix of both and we just took off.”

Kroll was elated with RCB’s ability to stay present and not rest on its accomplishments from Thursday that left the team in a good spot.

“We were in prime position,” Kroll said. “Last night went as well as it could’ve went and that’s what we wanted. We had two big relays today that we really wanted to win and needed to win, and we did. In the morning, I told them just try and take care of business. You don’t have to go crazy or do anything extra, but they swam so well all week that when we got tonight, it was the same message — it’s ours to lose and let’s just go swim. They went even faster, so I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Much like it was for RCB’s boys, it was strength in numbers as well for the Elkins girls.

The Tigers scored 126 points to get by Herbert Hoover (121).

The Elkins girls won the Division 2 team title. Photo by Greg Carey

Relay teams were a major reason why, including the group of Aleah Irons, Leah Ours, Sophia Rhodes and Emma Ujvagi, which won the 200 freestyle relay at 1:44.30.

“Our team has a ton of depth, they work incredibly hard and they’re willing to stop outside of their comfort zone to make sure our team gets key points in key areas,” Elkins assistant coach Seth Blake said. “I can’t say enough about how mature they’ve been through the whole process and how much they’ve grown over the last three years while winning three state championships.”

Elkins entered Friday with 76 points to the Huskies’ 53.

Lilly Irons, Ours, Rhodes and Lilly Anger won the final event of the meet — the 400 freestyle relay at 3:50.51.

For the Huskies, a victory from Ashton Walker in the 500 freestyle (5:23.81) was among the top Friday highlights.

Other winners Friday on the boys side included Wheeling Central’s Alex Mihalovich, who finished the 500 freestyle in 5:06.53 after recording a time of 5:04.74 in prelims; Sissonville’s Liam Riley, who won the 100 backstroke at 54.47; and Charleston Catholic’s Zach Lanning, who won the 100 breaststroke at 1:01.91.

Charleston Catholic’s Izzy Paulson and Robert C. Byrd’s Liza Saas both won a second individual state championship.

Paulson, who took first in the 200 IM on Thursday, won the 100 backstroke at 1:00.99.

Saas, winner of Thursday’s 50 freestyle, took home some more coveted hardware with a victory in the 100 breaststroke at 1:04.20. That gave her the win more than 9 seconds.

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Mountaineers look for multitude of fixes starting Saturday at TCU

Greg Carey — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 20:11:54 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia men’s basketball coach Ross Hodge spaced an index finger and thumb within no more than a quarter inch of each other to signify what the Mountaineers’ margin for error is within Big 12 Conference play.

Minutes before, Hodge looked on as the Mountaineers were unable to overcome an abundance of early errors in Wednesday night’s matchup with Utah. In turn, the home team trailed 18-3 and played from behind throughout in a 61-56 setback to the Utes.

Utah hadn’t won on the road this season and brought an end to a 15-game road losing streak. West Virginia, once 13-0 inside Hope Coliseum, lost its third straight home game before returning to the road for two straight — Saturday at TCU and Tuesday at Oklahoma State.

This time, unlike in several Big 12 wins and each of its last two (at Cincinnati and at Central Florida), WVU couldn’t quite catchup from the double-digit deficit. The Mountaineers were to within two late, but never led.

“We have a small margin for error and when you continually put yourself in these positions and dig yourself holes, some of that is the inconsistency that you’re playing with whether it’s individually or collectively,” Hodge said. “It’s to be commended that we continuously fight back and give ourselves a chance, but when you dig the holes, so many things have to go right. In the games we were able to do that, we were able to get over the hump with a big shot. We weren’t able to do that.”

The Mountaineers (16-10, 7-6) failed to rebound at an adequate level, with the Utes grabbing 23 to WVU’s 12 through the first 20 minutes. Perhaps even more alarming was that Utah rebounded seven of its 17 first-half misses. The Utes settled for a 38-28 rebounding advantage on the night, and had a 9-4 edge on second-chance points in a game decided by five.

“So much of that is the force at which they drive the ball with and we couldn’t really stay in front of the ball, so they collapse you,” Hodge said. “Those guards get a lot of attention and make your forwards step up and they get it up on the window. Our physicality and urgency to block out wasn’t good enough.”

While Hodge at least somewhat downplayed the significance of the free-throw shooting, there’s no denying it played a pivotal factor in the outcome.

WVU made 5-of-10 foul shots in the opening half while struggling to score for lengthy stretches of it. The Mountaineers were 2 for 5 from the charity stripe in the second half.

“All you can really do is continue to work on it, try to find creative methods and different ways and put them in different situations,” Hodge said. “But those guys want to make those. They really do.

“If you’re going to get out-rebounded by 10, you can’t go 7 for 15 from the foul line. If you’re going to miss 30 shots and only get seven offensive rebounds, you better make your free throws. You can miss your free throws if you miss 30 shots and go get 15 offensive rebounds, but you can’t do all of them. But it certainly helps, in particular when you’ve dug yourself a hole and you’re trying to dig yourself out of that hole and you’re splitting.”

WVU is 0-3 within the Big 12 this season when failing to score more points off free throws than its opponents and 6-3 in league action when it does exactly that.

But the Mountaineers are second-to-last in the conference in free-throw shooting at 67.3 percent, and that figure drops to a Big 12-worst 63 percent in league games.

For a team that struggles to score and has the minuscule margin for error Hodge often references, those are precious (and free) points they’re missing out on too often.

Moving forward from disappointment is something the Mountaineers have shown they’re plenty capable of. WVU has been victorious after each of its five previous Big 12 losses and the team has lost consecutively only once this season.

To keep that intact, West Virginia will need to win Saturday at a place where success has been tough to come by — TCU’s Schollmaier Arena. The Mountaineers have lost four straight in Fort Worth and seven of eight.

The Horned Frogs (16-10, 6-7) are in better postseason standing than WVU with a NET rating of 47 to the Mountaineers’ 61, but their three-game win streak was snapped Tuesday with a loss at Central Florida.

Jan 28, 2026; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; TCU Horned Frogs forward David Punch (15) makes a jump shot over Houston Cougars forward Kalifa Sakho (14) during the first half at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Forward David Punch is TCU’s most productive player with team-best averages of 14.2 points and 6.7 rebounds. Three teammates — forward Xavier Edmonds (12.4), guard Jayden Pierre (10.7) and forward Micah Robinson (10.4) also are double-figure scoring.

TCU is surrendering 80.2 points on average on 47.2 percent shooting against Big 12 teams, but averages just south of 77 points in those games and nearly 79 overall.

For WVU, containing the Horned Frogs early comes into focus, as does the ability for the Mountaineers to create offense and develop rhythm.

“We are trying to feel the game out and when we do that, the other team is pressing [on the gas],” WVU guard Honor Huff said. “When you have a team with nothing to lose, they come in here with reckless abandon and we’re not in tune with the physical process. Little things are being replicated every game and that’s something we have to figure out as a group. It’s really hurting us and determining what we want to do on the end goal.”

Instead of praising his team’s ability to respond to early deficits, Hodge would much prefer to discuss his squad building a rare early lead.

“You can’t continuously put yourself in those situations and think you’re always going to be able to come back, but the fight back and togetherness, you appreciate that,” Hodge said. “But some of it is we need to play better, with more consistency from individuals and collectively so we don’t find ourselves in those situations. There is something that’s leading up to being down 14 and 15 and starting slow in these games. That’s what we have to ultimately figure out.”

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Week 6 Power Rankings: Washington moves atop Class AAAA

Greg Carey — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 16:00:05 +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 6 rankings reflect results up through February 18, 2026.

Rankings will be released each Friday through the completion of regular season.

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GW’s McGlothen, Bridgeport’s Ahmed shine on first day of WVSSAC State Swim Meet

Greg Carey — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 04:54:55 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A year ago on the first day of the WVSSAC State Swim Meet, then-George Washington junior Kenneth McGlothen was part of the Patriots’ winning 200 medley relay team before going on to win the 200 freestyle.

On Thursday, it was partially a case of history repeating itself for McGlothen, who began the final meet of his storied prep career by joining forces with teammates Sam Lopinsky, Wes Hamrick and Ali Elkhansa to give GW a victory in the 200 medley relay (1:40.10).

McGlothen then added to his hardware collection in a different event, claiming a victory in the 200 individual medley at 1:51.13 — a shade behind his time of 1:50.50 earlier Thursday during preliminaries.

“It’s mostly because of my team,” McGlothen said of his success. “My main goal this year was to get the state record in the 200 IM, which thankfully I was able to do that in prelims. Being able to reach the goals that I’ve set for myself and to continue to go higher and higher feels good.”

With a surplus of past experience and success on the biggest stage, McGlothen made sure to turn the page quickly after being part of a winning relay squad.

“We were excited about the win obviously, but you have to put it behind you no matter what and be thinking about that next race,” he said. “You have to take it one race at a time and can’t be thinking about I have this ahead or I just did this. You have to approach each race differently and attack it like its own beast.”

McGlothen’s efforts were among the top stories from the Division I boys category.

Other individual winners on the first day of the WVSSAC State Swim meet included Parkersburg sophomore Levi Moor in the 200 freestyle at 1:42.74 and Musselman senior Sawyer Wright in the 50 freestyle at 21.84, which was enough to narrowly edge Bridgeport’s James Hadjis (21.85).

Morgantown senior Christian Hammer took the 100 butterfly at 49.97, while Fairmont Senior sophomore Tred Bennington won the final event of the night with a time of 46.68 in the 100 freestyle.

That was the Polar Bears’ second individual champion, as FSHS sophomore Claire Ciemania repeated as a state champion in the 200 IM at 2:08.32.

“It feels so great. It’s definitely good to do it the second time around,” Ciemania said. “I’m happy with my time and I can’t wait to see what I do tomorrow in the 100 back.

“I’ve been swimming since I was 5, so I’m definitely with the races and my strategies.”

Bridgeport’s Emma Ahmed. Photo by Greg Carey

Elsewhere on the girls side in Division I, Bridgeport’s Brooklyn Richmond, Jacie Wood, Emma Ahmed and Kennedy Marsh won the 200 medley relay at 1:56.32 in what was not ruled an officially completed event until well after it had finished due to potential issues with a time discrepancy.

That was the start of a special day for Ahmed, a sophomore who later won the 50 freestyle (24.69) and 100 freestyle (53.69).

Along with Ciemania and Ahmed, two other sophomores were Division I state champions on the girls side — Parkersburg’s Delaney Snodgrass in the 200 freestyle (1:52.69) for the second straight year and Morgantown’s Ellie Perella in the 100 butterfly at 1:02.29.

Through one day and thanks in large part to the efforts of Ahmed, Bridgeport leads the girls team scoring with 40 points, followed by GW (30), Morgantown (26), John Marshall (25), Washington (24) and Parkersburg (22).

GW leads in boys team scoring with 39 and Bridgeport is second at 36. Morgantown (31), John Marshall (26), Fairmont Senior (24) and Musselman (22) follow.

— — — — —

One year after garnering a state championship, the Elkins girls lead Division 2 with 76 points after Day 1.

The Tigers’ performance was highlighted by a 200 medley relay win in 1:54.10 from the quartet of Aleah Irons, Emma Ujvagi, Lilly Arons and Lilly Anger.

Lilly Irons, a junior, gave EHS a win in the 100 freestyle at 54.34 to close Thursday’s action. It marked the second straight year Irons won the event.

It’s also the second straight year Robert C. Byrd sophomore Liza Saas is a state champion after her victory in the 50 freestyle at 24.26. As a freshman, Saas won the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke.

Robert C. Byrd’s Liza Saas. Photo by Greg Carey

“I’m really happy with how I swam today. I’ve been practicing a lot,” Saas said. “That really helped with swimming and getting to this point. The feeling of getting this done is really cool.

“I have improved a lot. I’ve cut time in almost all of my events this year, so I’m really happy about that.”

Herbert Hoover is second in the team standings with 53 points and senior Ashton Walker provided the Huskies with nine via her 200 freestyle win in 2:00.03.

Charleston Catholic, which is third with 26 points, got a win from junior Izzy Paulson in the 200 individual medley (2:15.34) and Doddridge County junior Isabella McGrady won the 100 butterfly at 1:00.30. McGrady shed more than a full second off her preliminary time of 1:01.57.

“I always swim better at finals. I tend to do better then and kind of strategize that way,” McGrady said. “I go out a lot faster in finals than in prelims.

“For prelims in the morning, I don’t feel my body is as fueled as usual. For finals, my body is very prepared and really awake. I have a good meal in me and feel like I’m able to do a lot more.”

Robert C. Byrd enters Friday with 63 points to lead the Division 2 boys standings. The Eagles got a win from senior Armondo Montero in the 100 butterfly (55.73).

“I have my technique down at this point and I know what I want to do, but it’s more about calming my nerves and making sure I know what I can do,” Montero said.

Four other individual champions came from four different schools — Wheeling Central junior Alex Mihalovich in the 200 freestyle (1:51.27), Charleston Catholic sophomore Zach Lanning in the 200 individual medley (2:05.68), Bluefield junior Andy DiNovo in the 50 freestyle (22.50) and Philip Barbour’s Isaiah Starks in the 100 freestyle (50.61).

Elkins claimed the 200 medley relay win as Dorsey Cutright, Joel Casto, Kyan George and Kolton Ward teamed up to finish in 1:49.75.

The Tigers enter Friday in second place with 40 points and are seeking a repeat team title.

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Another slow start spells trouble for Mountaineers in 61-56 setback to Utah

Greg Carey — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 05:50:33 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Slow starts that create significant deficits have too often been problematic for West Virginia much of this season.

On Wednesday, another one proved too much to overcome against Utah inside Hope Coliseum.

The Utes scored the first nine points, led 18-3 at one time, and held off the Mountaineers down the stretch, never trailing in a 61-56 victory that gives them their first road win this season.

“They started the game with force, pace and shot-making and we didn’t match that,” WVU head coach Ross Hodge said. “A coach has a lot of responsibilities, but one of the biggest primary responsibilities as a head coach is to make sure your team is ready to play and there has been too many times we haven’t quite been ready to play. I’ll take the blame for that.”

With the result, Utah (10-16, 2-12) brought an end to a 15-game road losing streak, while the Mountaineers (16-10, 7-6) lost their third straight home game and suffered a significant blow as it pertains to their postseason resume.

Hodge called timeout 2:18 into the matchup after Don McHenry made the game’s first three-pointer to leave the Mountaineers facing a 9-0 deficit.

“If we don’t start well, it’s hard for us to come back, especially on the road,” Utah head coach Alex Jensen said.

A triple from Honor Huff was West Virginia’s lone field goal until DJ Thomas scored inside at the 11:08 mark of the opening half, at which point the Utes led, 18-6.

“At the end of the day, it’s five seniors. We’ve all been through the ringer of college basketball and we’re not executing at a high enough level to start games, and that’s on us,” Huff said.

Offensive struggles were prevalent throughout the majority of the opening half, though the Mountaineers were to within eight at 24-16 after Amir Jenkins found Huff in transition for a triple.

But Utah scored the next four points and led 31-21 at halftime thanks in large part to its rebounding dominance. Through 20 minutes, the Utes had 23 of 35 rebounds in the game, including seven of nine on the offensive end. In turn, they had all five second-chance points at the intermission.

“The rebounding was the difference in the game,” Hodge said.

WVU, meanwhile, went to the break 7 for 23 from the field, 2 for 12 from three and 5 for 10 on free throws.

“Rebounding was a big part of it. We got out-rebounded pretty bad tonight and giving up offensive rebounds is what started them getting that great burst in the first 4 [minutes],” WVU swingman Chance Moore said. “We have to keep working on free throws, but it was rebounding that really hurt us tonight.”

Although the Mountaineers picked up their offense in the second half, they were a step slow defensively for the first 5 minutes of it.

A Seydou Traore triple opened the second-half scoring and McHenry’s bucket at the 18:13 mark made it 36-21.

The Utah advantage was still 15 at 45-30 before WVU began to charge back, starting with an 8-0 spurt that featured six points from Moore.

The home team still trailed by seven with inside 5 minutes remaining when Huff threw in a three to cut Utah’s advantage to 53-49. A driving bucket from Treysen Eaglestaff just inside the 4-minute mark made it a two-point game, allowing the Mountaineers to get as close as they’d been since the opening basket.

WVU had a chance to go in front, but Huff misfired on a three with 3 minutes left. Utah then capitalized on a pivotal offensive rebound from former Mountaineer James Okonkwo and it led to Terrence Brown’s reverse layup that allowed the visitors to double their lead.

A triple from Huff with 33 seconds left brought West Virginia to within 57-54, and the Mountaineers got the ball back down three when Brown missed the front end of a 1-and-1.

But WVU was unable to muster a quality look, with Huff ultimately forcing a three that was well-defended and blocked by Traore.

“Seyou did a great job on Huff, especially at the end,” Jensen said. “We made the plays defensively even though we struggled offensively, which was fun for a coach to see.”

In hindsight, Hodge wished he’d have called the Mountaineers’ last timeout.

“The last possession, I’ll take the blame for that, too,” Hodge said. “We’re down three with 25 seconds and a quick two is more so what you want. Once the play broke down, I shouldn’t have left Honor on an island out there. I should’ve called a timeout.”

The Mountaineers had one final chance trailing 59-56 after Traore missed two free throws with 5 seconds left, but a miscommunication led to Jasper Floyd throwing the ball out of bounds in the direction of Huff after Floyd had rebounded the second miss.

“We knew what we wanted to do and it was get the ball to Honor. Honor was looking for it and Trey kind of ran in front of him,” Hodge said. “Jasper was throwing it to where he thought Honor was going to be. Honor saw Trey, so he stopped. It was a bang-bang play.”

West Virginia had one last late chance while trailing by three in its 61-56 loss to Utah, but a miscommunication between Jasper Floyd and Honor Huff led to Floyd throwing the ball away. pic.twitter.com/XKDXsdV2S8

— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) February 19, 2026

West Virginia shot 15 for 29 in the second half, including 12 for 18 on two-point shots.

The Mountaineers split their first seven trips to the free-throw line and finished 7 for 15.

Moore made 4-of-5 shots and scored 12 points to tie for team-high scoring honors with Huff, who was 4 for 15 from the field.

“Collectively, as a group, we were aware of him for most of the night,” Jensen said.

Lorient scored all 10 of his points in the second half after going 0 for 4 through the first 20 minutes.

WVU center Harlan Obioha was limited to 13 minutes as a result of four fouls. He did not attempt a shot, scored one point, and finished with a plus/minus of minus-20.

“I don’t think it was anything from a matchup standpoint, just an execution standpoint on Harlan’s end,” Hodge said.

Traore led all players with 17 points. McHenry and Brown followed with 16 apiece, while Brown led all players with eight boards to help Utah control the rebounding battle, 38-28.

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Off to strong start with Mountaineers, Graveline can help any number of ways

Greg Carey — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 17:15:05 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In recording a three-game sweep at Georgia Southern last weekend to start the 2026 season, West Virginia showcased a number of traits that amount to winning baseball, many of which the program has displayed consistently enough to qualify for a Super Regional series the previous two years.

That many players responsible for the success against the Eagles are new to the Mountaineers would seem to bode well for the prospects of the 2026 season.

Among them was senior Matthew Graveline, an Ohio State transfer with a surplus of experience who accounted for both West Virginia home runs in the series.

Over the three games, Graveline was 5-for-13 with a team-best seven RBI and three extra-base hits.

“Helping the team to win as many games as possible is my goal,” says Graveline.

Graveline belted a two-run home run in Game 2 of the series at Georgia Southern, at which time the Mountaineers led 10-4 in the fourth inning. WVU won that game 11-10, and later Saturday in the series finale and second game of a doubleheader, Graveline belted a solo shot in the second, drew a bases loaded walk to break a 2-all tie in the seventh and brought in a ninth-inning insurance run with a single in a 5-2 victory.

A double serving of gravy!@MGraveline09 pic.twitter.com/jyqkO6Lesi

— WVU Baseball (@WVUBaseball) February 15, 2026

It was a welcome sight alike for the Mountaineers and Graveline, who increased his home run total over each of his three seasons with the Buckeyes and finished with 19 round-trippers at OSU, including 10 as a junior.

“To start my college career, I was pretty light and about 180 [pounds],” Graveline said. “I’m 205 now. Putting on strength and putting on good muscle weight translates to more power in the game. I feel like a strong part of my game is bat speed. I have pretty good bat speed. Those two combined equal a lot of power and it’s kind of showcased throughout the later part of my college career.”

Graveline was slotted fifth in the lineup each game. He played catcher the first two and was in right field for Game 3 when Gavin Kelly caught.

“My arm strength plays at both pretty well,” Graveline said. “My athletic ability plays at both pretty well. I’d rather catch, but obviously, I’m willing to do anything to help the team win. So if that’s playing outfield three games, I’m totally willing to do that.”

That arm strength was on display in the bottom of the sixth inning of the series finale. Before Graveline drew the all-important base-on-balls, he charged a Max Prozny single in right field and fired home to catcher Gavin Kelly to cut down Jon Davis at the plate and keep the game tied.

Dot @MGraveline09 pic.twitter.com/RUrqDJiOsN

— WVU Baseball (@WVUBaseball) February 16, 2026

Four days before the start of the regular season, WVU coach Steve Sabins remarked Graveline and Kelly would split time at catcher, and he followed through on that plan at GSU.

“Graveline has turned into such an elite catcher and so consistent offensively throughout the fall, we’re going to have to see how that plays out,” Sabins said. “If it ends up being a 50/50 split, I wouldn’t be surprised at all, or if Graveline ended up catching a little bit more, it wouldn’t be shocking, just because of Kelly’s versatility. Graveline has gotten so good behind the dish, and selfishly, as coach, you always say well Kelly could turn some double plays at second or field every bunt at third base. He’s just so good with the glove.”

Graveline has experience juggling positions as he was utilized as a catcher and corner outfielder in his time with the Buckeyes.

While behind the dish is Graveline’s preference and gives him far more responsibility, the Centerville, Ohio, native tries to keep defensive responsibilities separate from his plate appearances.

“The end goal is to play professionally and preferably as a catcher. As far as how catching impacts my offense, I like to look at it as two different parts of my game,” he said. “When I go out on defense, whether I had a good or bad at bat, just forget about it and focus on catching the pitcher and helping the defense, because as a catcher you kind of have to command the defense at all times and be pretty level-headed back there. You can’t get too high, can’t get too low.”

Because Graveline is a new addition to the program without past experience catching Mountaineer pitchers, it adds to the significance of practice and workouts.

“The coaches do a really good job of having me catch a lot of the bullpens on Monday or Tuesday just to get a feel for their pitches, but also getting to know them on a personal level, because every guy is different out there,” Graveline said. “Some guys you need to be stern with and tell them let’s go, but there’s also guys that need the opposite approach and you may have to crack a joke or something to get them to loosen up.”

After earning his way on to the Big Ten Conference All-Freshman Team in 2023, Graveline faced West Virginia four times over the next two seasons.

He was productive against WVU, bating 7-for-13 in a three-game set in Morgantown in 2024 and recording two hits in the lone meeting between the Buckeyes and Mountaineers last season.

“I remember Armani Guzman robbing a home run and doubling us up at first [last year],” Graveline said. “When I came here my sophomore year, I thought it was a very special place and a cool atmosphere to play in.”

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