West Virginia
Thomas, Huff lead Mountaineers past Lafayette, 81-59 – WV MetroNews
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia guard Honor Huff does the majority of his damage from the perimeter.
Mountaineer freshman DJ Thomas generally makes his presence felt closer to the basket.
Together, that combination was too much for Lafayette in a Monday night matchup at Hope Coliseum. Thomas led all players with 25 points and Huff accounted for 24 on eight three-pointers as the Mountaineers never trailed in an 81-59 victory against the Leopards.
“Every team is going to play you a little different and we knew going into this game they were going to zone some and they had double-teamed the post,” first-year West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge said. “We figured they were going to double team Harlan [Obioha] and B-Lo [Brenen Lorient], and that’s the first play that Honor got his shot from. DJ got to his spots to where he needed to be and he was the recipient of some really good passes. He found himself in good position and finished and left a couple on the table that he probably wished he could’ve finished as well.”
The result enables WVU (5-0) to complete its season-opening home stand unbeaten, while the Leopards fell to 1-4.
“We did what we were supposed to do. You have to take court of home court,” Hodge said.
Huff showed what type of performance it would be on his team’s first possession when he received a pass from Jasper Floyd and connected from beyond the arc.
“About time. It felt good to see a couple go in right away,” Huff said. “I’ve struggled to start these past couple games and that kind of sets the trajectory unconsciously for the rest of the game.”
Lafayette hung tough for the first 10 minutes and was tied at 13 when Mark Butler scored in the paint.
Thomas then took over for a stretch, accounting for seven straight points to leave the home team on top 20-13.
“Just having a mindset of being ready. I know these guys are putting in work, so I have to keep up that production level when I get in off the bench,” Thomas said.
WVU gained its first double-figure lead on Huff’s third triple 4:19 before halftime, and the 5-foot-10 senior guard added two more before the break, including one just before time expired directly in front of the Leopards’ bench.
Huff’s 15 first-half points combined with Thomas’ 11 staked West Virginia to a 36-25 halftime lead.
“He has the ability to get on a roll and start making some tough shots, which he did tonight,” Hodge said. “The one right before the half was a big momentum shot.“
Huff hardly wasted time picking up where he left off to start the second half and made a trey at the 17:19 mark to increase the advantage to 43-29. His seventh three came with 15:15 remaining and Huff added an eighth at the 11:25 mark to leave the Mountaineers with their largest lead of the night, 58-34.
With eight threes, Huff tied the second-highest single-game mark in program history and was one short of Alex Ruoff’s record set in December 2008 against Radford. Huff did not attempt a shot in the final 11 minutes.
“It wasn’t until the fans started screaming about [the single game WVU record for threes] when I was on the bench,” Huff said of when he became aware the feat was within reach. “I’m like, talk to Ross Hodge. I’m happy we got the win. I wasn’t really worried about that. That’ll come.”
Thomas, meanwhile, continued to assert himself after halftime and was extremely efficient, making 6-of-7 second-half field-goal attempts.
Largely on the strength of its perimeter shooting, Lafayette fought back to within 14 with 6:44 remaining and 12 at the 2:55 mark on an Andrew Phillips three.
The Honor Huff Experience.
24 points (8-9 on 3-point FGs, 1 off the program single-game record for made triples). pic.twitter.com/nlbVsCa01d
— Joe Brocato (@joebrowvm) November 18, 2025
WVU outscored the Leopards 12-2 the rest of the way with Thomas and fellow freshman Amir Jenkins combining for eight of those points.
“I was proud of the way we finished the last 4 minutes — the last couple of minutes in particular,” Hodge said.
Thomas’ output marked the highest point total for a WVU freshman since March 2019 when Emmitt Matthews scored 28 against Texas Tech.
“He has a great feel. He played for a good really high school program. He’s really mature,” Hodge said. “He’s a good listener and listening is a skill just like running fast and jumping high. The ability to listen to what your coach is asking you do to and go execute that. He’s getting better defensively as well. He was the recipient of some good passing tonight from our team.”
Jenkins and Brenen Lorient scored nine apiece in the victory.
Phillips led Lafayette with 19 points and Caleb Williams score 16.
Lafayette made 10-of-22 threes. WVU entered having held opponents to a 26.4 percent (19 for 72) mark from distance.
WVU, 5-0 for the first time since 2019, has yet to allow an opponent to record more assists than turnovers in a game this season after Lafayette finished with 14 assists and 19 turnovers.
The Leopards entered averaging 11.5 turnovers.
“Typically, we’re a low assist defense,” Hodge said. “Fourteen assists is a big number for them. Fortunately, we were able to balance it out with 19 turnovers. There’s that fine line of keeping that ball in front of you and when you are beat, being able to funnel it to where help is.”
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The following events happened on these dates in West Virginia history, compiled by the West Virginia Humanities Council from its online encyclopedia, e-WV.
April 19, 1896: Writer Melville Davisson Post was born in Harrison County. His best-known works are the Randolph Mason series, published in three volumes, and the more successful collection Uncle Abner: Master of Mysteries.
April 19, 1902: Author Jean Lee Latham was born in Buckhannon. She wrote a number of children’s books, including Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, which won the 1956 Newbery Award.
April 20, 1823: Gen. Jesse Lee Reno was born in Wheeling. He graduated from West Point in 1846 with another cadet from western Virginia, Thomas J. Jackson, later known as “Stonewall.” Reno was the highest-ranking officer from present West Virginia killed in the Civil War.
April 20, 1863: President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation that in 60 days, West Virginia would become a state. The occasion was marked 100 years later during the state’s Centennial celebration with a special ceremonial session of the West Virginia Legislature on April 20, 1963, in Wheeling.
April 20, 1909: Fiddler Melvin Wine was born near Burnsville in Braxton County. A favorite of old-time music enthusiasts nationally, he was chosen as a National Heritage Fellow in 1991 by the National Endowment for the Arts — the highest recognition given to a folk artist in the United States.
April 20, 1939: Poet Irene McKinney was born in Belington, Barbour County. Gov. Gaston Caperton appointed her state poet laureate in 1993, and she served in that capacity until her death in 2012.
April 21, 1908: Musician Phoeba Cottrell Parsons was born in Calhoun County. Parsons’ traditional clawhammer banjo style, unaccompanied ballad singing, riddles and storytelling have influenced countless younger musicians.
April 21, 1936: President Franklin Roosevelt established the Jefferson National Forest. The West Virginia portion of the forest includes about 19,000 acres in Monroe County.
April 22, 1908: Marshall “Little Sleepy” Glenn was born in Elkins. Glenn coached basketball at West Virginia University from 1934 to 1938 and football from 1937 to 1940. He was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.
April 22, 1948: Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and musician Larry Groce was born in Dallas, Texas. He is best known as the longtime host and artistic director of the Mountain Stage radio program.
April 22, 2003: Activist Judy Bonds, a Raleigh County native, received the Goldman Environmental Prize for her fight against mountaintop removal mining. Her efforts inspired thousands and turned a local West Virginia issue into a national cause.
April 23, 1857: Andrew S. Rowan was born in Gap Mills, Monroe County. Rowan, a military officer, was chosen as the messenger when President William McKinley wanted to send a message to Cuban Gen. Calixto Garcia during the Spanish-American War. The 1899 pamphlet A Message to Garcia made the incident famous.
April 24, 1865: McNeill’s Rangers surrendered to Union troops at New Creek — now Keyser. The Confederate guerrilla force probably never numbered more than 100 men at any time but managed to inflict regular damage on Union operations.
April 25, 1863: In what became known as the Jones-Imboden Raid, about 1,500 Confederate soldiers under Gen. William “Grumble” Jones advanced through Greenland Gap, a deep pass through New Creek Mountain in present Grant County. The Confederates encountered 87 Union soldiers who held off several assaults before finally surrendering.
April 25, 1923: Union leader Arnold Ray Miller was born at Leewood on Cabin Creek in Kanawha County. In December 1972, he defeated Tony Boyle to become president of the United Mine Workers and served until 1979.
e-WV is a project of the West Virginia Humanities Council. For more information, contact the council at 1310 Kanawha Blvd. E., Charleston, WV 25301, call 304-346-8500 or visit wvencyclopedia.org.
During the Gold-Blue spring game on Saturday, the West Virginia coaching staff named wide receiver Cyrus Traught the recipient of the 2026 Tommy Nikolich Award.
The award, which is always given out at the end of spring ball, recognizes a walk-on team member who has distinguished himself through his attitude and work ethic. The award is presented in memory of Tommy Nickolich, a former WVU player (1980-82) who passed away from cancer in 1983.
Traugh is a Parkersburg native and graduate of Parkersburg South High School. He began his career at Youngstown State before transferring back home to play for the Mountaineers last season. In his final year with the Penguins, he logged 36 receptions, 409 yards, and a team-leading five touchdowns, two of which came against Pitt.
During the 2025 campaign with the Mountaineers, he saw action against Robert Morris and Kansas, playing 10 snaps against the Jayhawks, but did not record any stats.
Head coach Rich Rodriguez has mentioned him twice this spring as someone who has been doing some good things and making progress. Wide receivers coach Ryan Garrett also showed him some love during his press conference last week.
The Mountaineers completely revamped the wide receiver room this offseason, upping the level of talent at both inside and outside receiver spots, but perhaps Traugh can work his way into the mix if he puts together a strong summer and fall camp. If he’s not a regular in the rotation, he’ll serve as a quality depth piece who can play special teams.
Past Nickolich Award winners:
2025: Clay Ash, RB
2024: Avery Wilcox, S
2023: C.J. Cole, WR
2022: Nick Malone, OL
2021: Graeson Malashevich, WR/H
2020: Osman Kamara, S
2019: Jake Abbott, LB
2018: Evan Staley, K
2017: Nick Meadows, LS
2016: Jon Lewis, DL
2015: Justin Arndt, LB
2014: Michael Calicchio, OL
2013: Connor Arlia, WR
2012: Tyler Anderson, DE
2011: Ryan Nehlen, WR
2010: Matt Lindamood, FB
2009: Josh Taylor, DL
2008: Adam Hughes, LS
2007: Andy Emery, LB
2006: Tim Lindsey, LS
2005: George Shehl, H/DB
2004: Jeff Noechel, LB
2003: John Pennington, WR
2002: Moe Fofana, RB
2001: Jeremy Knapp, TE
2000: Ben Collins, LB
1999: Bryan Lorenz, LB
1998: Mark Corman, TE
1997: David Lightcap, DB
1996: Matt Ceresa, OL
1995: Rob Keys, DB
1994: Randy Fulmore, DB
1993: Matt McCulty, WR
1992: Brett Parise, WR, Ray Wilcox, LB
1991: Keith Taparausky, RB
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