CINCINNATI — West Virginia freshman forward DJ Thomas is a man of few words.
On Thursday at Fifth Third Arena, Thomas let his game do the talking, and it carried the Mountaineers down the stretch.
Thomas scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half, including eight over the final 4:05 to play a pivotal role in West Virginia’s 59-54 come-from-behind victory against the Bearcats.
“Coach says all the time, I put the work in and I have to be confident and let my work show,” Thomas said. “Those moments are a testament to the work I put in and the confidence the coaches have in me.”
With Cincinnati (11-12, 3-7) leading 47-46, Thomas made a corner three-pointer off a feed from teammate Jasper Floyd that put the Mountaineers (15-8, 6-4) on top to stay. It was Thomas’ first triple since January 13 at Houston.
Go-ahead 3 from DJ Thomas that gave West Virginia a late 49-47 lead in its 59-54 win at Cincinnati. pic.twitter.com/xDe7zFR6Cu
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) February 6, 2026
WVU led 50-49 when Thomas made his second three — this one at the top of the key off a feed from Honor Huff that enabled the visitors to lead by four with 1:30 remaining.
“He’s one of the highest character, more mature freshman that I’ve been around,” WVU head coach Ross Hodge said.
Another 3 from DJ Thomas down the stretch at Cincinnati – this one for a 53-49 lead in Mountaineers’ 59-54 victory. pic.twitter.com/b3o5rdwXPd
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) February 6, 2026
Thomas followed with two free throws with 51 seconds left for a six-point advantage, and though Jizzle James countered with a three to make it a one-score margin, WVU got one free throw from Huff and Brenen Lorient’s breakaway dunk off James’ turnover to seal the verdict.
Were it not for Huff’s shot-making much earlier in the second half, Thomas’ clutch play late wouldn’t have been possible.
WVU again got off to a slow start, faced a 14-2 deficit less than 5 minutes in and trailed 30-20 at halftime after missing all nine three-pointers over the first 20 minutes.
Huff’s three with 14:40 left to cut the UC lead to 37-28 marked WVU’s first triple and was a sign of things to come for the perimeter-oriented guard, who followed with two other treys shortly after, and then accounted for a conventional three-point play to make it 12 straight Mountaineer points and bring his team to within 40-37 with 12:01 remaining.
It was a personal 9-0 run for Huff after the Bearcats had led by a dozen.
“I did a better job today of letting the game come to me,” Huff said. “There are times when I try to force it or make a 16-point play. To be able to chip away at it and see some go through the basket, it opens up my game and the rest of the team.”
The Mountaineers made it 14 points altogether and gained their first lead of the outing at 42-40 with 10:10 to play on a Treysen Eaglestaff triple.
“They played with more force and more physicality in the first half, but to these guys’ credit, we stayed the course,” Hodge said. “Honor got us going and got us back into that game with that stretch of shot-making.”
Cincinnati’s only advantage the rest of the way came at 47-46 after Tyler McKinley banked in the first of two free throws.
“He gets 12 straight and we got tight,” Bearcats’ head coach Wes Miller said. “It didn’t matter what I called. We were standing. Guys didn’t look as confident to go make plays.”
WVU shot nearly 44 percent (21 for 48), but continues to struggle from the charity stripe and made 11-of-21 free throws in what marked its second win this season outside Morgantown.
Huff’s 16 points were a team high, while Thomas followed with 14 and Lorient scored 11 on 5-of-7 shooting.
Thomas played the final 7:15 after replacing Harlan Obioha, who sat the rest of the way with four fouls.
“That’s a testament to our group. It’s been different lineup combinations different nights,” Hodge said. “We weren’t playing great. You’re searching for answers within the game. We kind of found that one lineup.”
Hodge also praised freshman guard Amir Jenkins, who had two points and two steals.
“The game changed on Amir’s defensive activity and ball pressure during a stretch,” Hodge said. “That was the best defensive game that Amir has played in Mountaineer uniform.”
James led UC with 18 points, though he had four turnovers without an assist. Baba Miller added 15 points and eight boards in defeat, but did not make a field goal in the second half.
Cincinnati is under .500 for the first time since March 2021 and has lost four straight to WVU.
The Bearcats played without center Moustapha Thiam, who had started each of the previous 22 games this season and is averaging 10.8. points, six rebounds and 1.5 blocks.
“I apologize to our fans and all the people that support Cincinnati basketball. It’s not OK,” Miller said. “I don’t want for one second for people to think it’s OK. There’s a higher standard. There’s no excuse. None of the circumstances matter. We have to close games out and play better down the stretch. Nobody takes it harder than me. I’m putting everything that I can put into my being to try and do the job to get this team over the hump. We will not give in.”