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.