Thursday, February 5
Cincinnati, Ohio
7 p.m.
West Virginia University
15-8,6-4Big 12
59
at
54
Cincinnati
11-12,3-7Big 12
1
2
F
West Virginia
20
39
59
Cincinnati
30
24
54
Photo by: WVU Athletic Communications
Mountaineers Complete Queen City Comeback to Sweep Season Series Against Bearcats
February 05, 2026 10:07 PM | Men's Basketball
West Virginia rallied from 14 points down in the second half to defeat Cincinnati 59-54 at Fifth Third Arena Thursday night.
It was the Mountaineers' biggest comeback victory in four years.
It was also West Virginia's second consecutive win in the Queen City and completes the season sweep of the Bearcats.
"I think there are going to be some people tomorrow who woke up and said, 'They won that game? I turned it off and went to sleep,'" West Virginia coach Ross Hodge joked afterward on his postgame radio show.
After scoring just 20 first-half points that included misfires on all nine of their 3-point attempts, the Mountaineers outscored the Bearcats 36-17 over the game's final 14 minutes to produce their second conference road win of the year.
Honor Huff and freshman D.J. Thomas combined for 26 of West Virginia's 39 second-half points to provide the difference.
Huff's team-high 16 all came in the second half, including three big triples.
The biggest 3s of the game came from the freshman, however. A Thomas bomb from the corner put West Virginia ahead 49-47 with 4:05 left, and he hit another big 3 from beyond the top of the key with 1:30 remaining to expand West Virginia's lead to 53-49.
Thomas also converted two critical free throws with 51 seconds left to give West Virginia a six-point lead.
The Allen, Texas, resident made all three of his second-half field goal attempts and was 4-for-4 from the line to offset his teammates, who combined to connect on only 7 of 17.
Some missed free throws, including a pair by Treysen Eaglestaff soon after his 3 gave West Virginia a 42-40 lead, nearly came back to haunt the Mountaineers.
But the defense was stellar by limiting the Bearcats to scores on only 10 of their 27 second-half possessions. After Day Day Thomas' 3 put UC ahead 40-28, it made just four field goals during the game's final 14:11.
D.J. Thomas scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half while also contributing a pair of rebounds.
"D.J. provides us with some space (with his outside shooting) and he made two big ones," Hodge said.
Lorient was the only other Mountaineer player to reach double figures with 11.
Overall, West Virginia shot 43.8%, including 6 of 12 from behind the arc in the second half. WVU held its own on the glass, being out-boarded by just one (34-33) and committed on three second-half turnovers after mishandling the ball nine times in the opening half.
WVU scored on 17 of its 29 second-half possessions.
Hodge credited freshman Amir Jenkins' on-ball defense in the second half, calling it the "best he's played this season."
"Honor's shot-making and Amir's point-of-attack defense changed the game," he observed.
Jizzle James led all scorers with 18 points while Baba Miller added 15 points and eight rebounds for the struggling Bearcats, who fall below .500 at 11-12 overall and 3-7 in Big 12 play.
West Virginia, which defeated Kansas State by the identical score last Wednesday night in Morgantown, boosts is record to 15-8 overall and 6-4 in league action.
Tonight was the second time this year the Mountaineers have won a game despite not reaching 60 points.
"They were 11-2 in this building for a reason, and I knew it was going to be hard," Hodge said.
WVU is now tied with UCF for sixth place in the conference standings with a big game looming Sunday afternoon against 13th-ranked Texas Tech, coming off a 64-61 home loss to Kansas earlier this week.
The Red Raiders are a half-game ahead of West Virginia in the Big 12 standings at 6-3.
Sunday's game will tip off at 1 p.m. and will be televised nationally on FOX.
There are a limited number of tickets remaining and those can be purchased through the Mountaineer Ticket Office by logging on to WVUGAME.com.
It was the Mountaineers' biggest comeback victory in four years.
It was also West Virginia's second consecutive win in the Queen City and completes the season sweep of the Bearcats.
"I think there are going to be some people tomorrow who woke up and said, 'They won that game? I turned it off and went to sleep,'" West Virginia coach Ross Hodge joked afterward on his postgame radio show.
After scoring just 20 first-half points that included misfires on all nine of their 3-point attempts, the Mountaineers outscored the Bearcats 36-17 over the game's final 14 minutes to produce their second conference road win of the year.
Honor Huff and freshman D.J. Thomas combined for 26 of West Virginia's 39 second-half points to provide the difference.
Huff's team-high 16 all came in the second half, including three big triples.
The biggest 3s of the game came from the freshman, however. A Thomas bomb from the corner put West Virginia ahead 49-47 with 4:05 left, and he hit another big 3 from beyond the top of the key with 1:30 remaining to expand West Virginia's lead to 53-49.
Thomas also converted two critical free throws with 51 seconds left to give West Virginia a six-point lead.
The Allen, Texas, resident made all three of his second-half field goal attempts and was 4-for-4 from the line to offset his teammates, who combined to connect on only 7 of 17.
Some missed free throws, including a pair by Treysen Eaglestaff soon after his 3 gave West Virginia a 42-40 lead, nearly came back to haunt the Mountaineers.
But the defense was stellar by limiting the Bearcats to scores on only 10 of their 27 second-half possessions. After Day Day Thomas' 3 put UC ahead 40-28, it made just four field goals during the game's final 14:11.
D.J. Thomas scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half while also contributing a pair of rebounds.
"D.J. provides us with some space (with his outside shooting) and he made two big ones," Hodge said.
Lorient was the only other Mountaineer player to reach double figures with 11.
Overall, West Virginia shot 43.8%, including 6 of 12 from behind the arc in the second half. WVU held its own on the glass, being out-boarded by just one (34-33) and committed on three second-half turnovers after mishandling the ball nine times in the opening half.
WVU scored on 17 of its 29 second-half possessions.
Hodge credited freshman Amir Jenkins' on-ball defense in the second half, calling it the "best he's played this season."
"Honor's shot-making and Amir's point-of-attack defense changed the game," he observed.
Jizzle James led all scorers with 18 points while Baba Miller added 15 points and eight rebounds for the struggling Bearcats, who fall below .500 at 11-12 overall and 3-7 in Big 12 play.
West Virginia, which defeated Kansas State by the identical score last Wednesday night in Morgantown, boosts is record to 15-8 overall and 6-4 in league action.
Tonight was the second time this year the Mountaineers have won a game despite not reaching 60 points.
"They were 11-2 in this building for a reason, and I knew it was going to be hard," Hodge said.
WVU is now tied with UCF for sixth place in the conference standings with a big game looming Sunday afternoon against 13th-ranked Texas Tech, coming off a 64-61 home loss to Kansas earlier this week.
The Red Raiders are a half-game ahead of West Virginia in the Big 12 standings at 6-3.
Sunday's game will tip off at 1 p.m. and will be televised nationally on FOX.
There are a limited number of tickets remaining and those can be purchased through the Mountaineer Ticket Office by logging on to WVUGAME.com.
Team Stats
WVU
UC
FG%
.438
.364
3FG%
.286
.304
FT%
.524
.778
RB
33
34
TO
12
12
STL
5
4
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's BasketballTV Highlights: WVU 59, Cincinnati 54
Thursday, February 05
Ross Hodge, Honor Huff & D.J. Thomas | Cincinnati Postgame
Thursday, February 05
United Bank Playbook: Cincinnati Preview
Wednesday, February 04
Ross Hodge | Cincinnati Preview
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