West Virginia
Arizona Basketball Loses to West Virginia in Third Place Game of Battle 4 Atlantis
Arizona was ready to turn the page on their tough two-game stretch against Wisconsin and Duke that resulted in the Wildcats almost falling out of the top 25.
While the results on the court weren’t great, those were still early tests for this Arizona team that is still needing to gel, so despite the losses, there wasn’t a whole lot of panic around the program based on the success they’ve had under head coach Tommy Lloyd.
The Wildcats looked like they had figured some things out on the practice floor prior to their Bahamas trip for the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament when they bludgeoned Davidson.
Arizona looked much more like themselves by attacking the glass to pull down 12 offensive rebounds, getting out in transition for 14 fastbreak points, and shooting at sizzling rate from the floor (56.5%), and from deep (50.0%).
But, with a championship appearance on the line, they fell in their next contest to Oklahoma.
The hard-fought five-point loss was disappointing, especially since they struggled to shoot the ball in back-to-back games, but again, this early season defeat could have been taken with a grain of salt.
That sentiment likely ended on Friday.
Arizona lost again, this time to West Virginia in an overtime heartbreaker that saw the Wildcats run out of steam in the extra period to lose, 83-76.
Early on, it looked like Arizona was going to showcase their form that earned them a preseason top 10 ranking.
They jumped out of the gates fast, taking an early seven-point lead five minutes into the game and extending it to eight with 12:42 left in the first half that stopped a little mini-run by West Virginia.
But the Mountaineers, who upset third-ranked Gonzaga just two days prior to this matchup, were able to tighten things up and take their second lead of the game with 8:46 left in the half.
That started a seesaw affair for the rest of the period where Arizona would try to pull away before West Virginia answered and eventually went into the locker room up 39-37.
The second half was a bit lower scoring.
In a role reversal, the Mountaineers were the ones trying to pull away from their opponent, but the Wildcats continued to answer even when they went down by multiple scores and double digits with under 10 minutes left in the contest.
A flurry to close things out where Trey Townsend made a layup and Caleb Love hit a 3-pointer to tie things up with 14 seconds left pushed Arizona into overtime.
Unfortunately, the extra period was where things got away from them.
With this loss, they are now under .500 with a 3-4 record.
Inconsistent shooting continues to plague Arizona, as they struggled from behind the arc again by going 7-21 from 3-point range for a 33.3% shooting clip.
Love and Townsend had big games with them scoring 24 and 19 points respectively, although the senior guard went 9-20 from the floor and 4-12 from three. KJ Lewis and Jaden Bradley joined them in double figures with 10 points each.
It wasn’t enough, though, as they struggled to stop Tucker DeVries who had a game-high 26 points, and Toby Okani who had 20.
Arizona will now travel back home from the Bahamas with even more questions than they had coming into this event.
They’ll return to the floor in game action on Dec. 7 as they take on Southern Utah at the McKale Center at 12 p.m. MST.
West Virginia
DNR Releases total deer whitetail numbers for 2025, down significantly from 2024 – WV MetroNews
DNR PRESS RELEASE
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) today announced that hunters harvested 92,553 white-tailed deer during the 2025-2026 seasons, which is a 17 percent decrease from the 2024 deer harvest of 111,646 and 14 percent below the 5-year average of 107,434.
This year’s decreased harvest was caused by an increase in hard mast production, which often results in decreased harvests due to the difficulty of tracking and targeting game species spread out over a landscape. Several counties also experienced an outbreak of hemorrhagic disease, which likely impacted hunter success, especially in the western part of the state.
According to preliminary numbers collected through the WVDNR’s electronic game checking system, hunters harvested 33,823 bucks during the traditional buck firearm season, 25,453 antlerless deer during all antlerless firearm hunting opportunities, 29,654 deer during the urban and regular archery/crossbow seasons, 3,102 deer during the muzzleloader season and 501 deer during the Mountaineer Heritage season.
Click here to download county-by-county 2025-2026 deer harvest numbers.
Antlerless Deer Season
Hunters harvested 25,453 deer during the 2025 antlerless deer season, which includes the youth, class Q and Class XS deer season. The harvest was a 23 percent decrease compared to the 2024 harvest of 33,057 and 13 percent below the 5-year average of 29,303. The top ten counties for antlerless deer harvests were Preston (1,442), Upshur (907), Greenbrier (877), Monroe (876), Mason (841), Lewis (836), Hardy (775), Randolph (774), Barbour (695) and Braxton (680).
Archery and Crossbow Deer Seasons
Hunters harvested 29,654 deer during the 2025 archery and crossbow season. The 2025 harvest was an 8 percent decrease over the 2024 harvest of 32,240 and 5 percent below the 5-year average of 31,139. The proportion of the archery harvest taken using a crossbow has stabilized and was greater than deer reportedly taken by a bow.
The archery and crossbow harvest does not include the 29 deer taken with recurve or longbows during the Mountaineer Heritage season. The top ten counties for archery and crossbow deer harvests were Preston (1,573), Raleigh (1,378), Wyoming (1,224), Kanawha (1,045), Fayette (1,032), Mercer (892), Nicholas (889), McDowell (876), Randolph (860) and Monongalia (842).
Muzzleloader Deer Season
Hunters harvested 3,102 deer during the 2025 muzzleloader season, which was 26 percent less than the 2024 harvest of 4,173 and 22 percent below the 5-year average of 3,979. The muzzleloader deer season harvest does not include the 472 deer taken with side lock and flintlock muzzleloaders during the Mountaineer Heritage season. The top ten counties for muzzleloader deer harvests were Nicholas (186), Preston (179), Randolph (158), Greenbrier (131), Upshur (115), Fayette (111), Raleigh (95), Mason (93), Barbour (90) and Kanawha (88).
— Story by David Walsh, Photo gallery by Will Wotring
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Divisions I and II are going as expected after Thursday night’s opening round in the 78th West Virginia High School State Wrestling Tournament at Mountain Health Network Arena. University, seeking a third straight large school title, and Parkersburg found themselves in the top two in the standings on a night dominated by pins as No. 1 seeds would beat up on No. 4 seeds.
University started the event minus two competitors. One did not make weight and the other, who won a state title a year ago, is not competing as he’s recovering from a football injury.
One competitor delivering big for the Hawks is Maximus Fortier, a junior who transferred in from Fairmont Senior. While there, he won the state title as a freshman at 144 with a final record of 41-1. He competes at 165 now and is 36-2 after winning with a first-round pin Thursday night.
“Come down, support the team and try to win,” Fortier said of his battle plan. “Wrestle the way we know how.”
Fortier and the Hawks won the Ron Mauck OVAC title, the WSAZ Invitational and West Virginia Duals during the season. He competed in two major tournaments as well. He went 2-2 in the Ironman and won his weight class in the Powerade Tournament which attracts the top teams in the nation.
“Wasn’t ready,” he said about the Ironman. “Did my thing at Powerade. It was big.”
Fortier said support at his new school grows every day.
“They treat me like family,” he said.
Strategy for the State Tournament is simple.
“Wrestle the way we know how to wrestle,” Fortier said.
University capitalized on a strong finish in the heavier weights and leads with 47 points. Parkersburg, which finished second here last year, trails with 39.5. Cabell Midland is third with 37.5 and Huntington fourth with 32.5.
Ripley is in year two in Division II. The Vikings placed sixth a year ago. They came to town as the Region 4 winner and qualified 11 with nine taking first and the other two second. Ripley leads after Thursday with 38 points thanks to wins by pin or major fall. Independence is second with 27 and Keyser third with 25.5. Cameron is the leader in Division III with 16 points.
The tournament continues Friday with sessions at 11:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, the girls have their state with action starting at 8 a.m. The boys begin at 10:30.
Championship finals are Saturday night at 6:30. Wrestlers are now seeded prior to the tournament and the pill breaks deadlocks.
During the season, Ripley won the West Virginia Duals, beat Herbert Hoover twice, Point Pleasant and also got wins over Parkersburg South and Huntington.
Losing to Kansas State wiped away all hope for West Virginia to make the NCAA Tournament. That seems to be the clear consensus in the Mountain State, but is there actually still a chance? Well, I guess so.
ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi still has West Virginia listed as a team to consider, the second team outside of the “next four out” grouping.
Lunardi’s current NCAA Tournament bubble
Last Four Byes: Missouri, Texas A&M, Texas, Ohio State
Last Four In: SMU, Santa Clara, New Mexico, Indiana
First Four Out: VCU, Auburn, Virginia Tech, Cincinnati
Next Four Out: San Diego State, USC, California, Seton Hall
Next: Stanford, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arizona State
How is this even possible?
Short answer? I don’t really know.
My best guess as to why? Two things: the respect for the Big 12 and the opportunities left on the table, and two, an incredibly weak bubble.
Should West Virginia beat UCF on Friday, it will give the Mountaineers a 9-9 record in Big 12 play. That’s not as much of a guarantee to make the dance as having a winning record, but still, it’s an impressive mark, especially when, in this instance, they would have wins over Kansas, BYU, and sweeps over Cincinnati and UCF.
If you ask me, they still have too many bad losses for it to matter. I mean, even if they got red-hot out of nowhere and made it to the Big 12 championship game next week, is that enough? Potentially, but that’s a big IF.
The one thing WVU does have on its side is the number of Quad 1 wins, which they have five of. Virtually every other team in college basketball that has a minimum of five Quad 1 victories is expected to make the tournament. In that previously mentioned scenario, they would add at least one more Quad 1 win in the conference tournament, giving the committee something to think about.
The bubble is just incredibly weak, though. Like, how in the world is Auburn, who is 16-14 currently, the second team out of the field? Cincinnati, which WVU swept and has the same record as, is the fourth team in the “first four out” grouping.
At this point, the only path I see is for the Mountaineers to cut down the nets in Kansas City — good luck with that. We could be having a very different conversation if they didn’t lallygag their way through the first 30 minutes of the games against Utah and Kansas State.
Arkansas man accused of killing daughter’s alleged abuser wins Republican sheriff’s nomination
California tech leaders challenge progressive policies as billionaires, businesses flee: report
Dog reunites with owner after 43 days lost in the mountains
Connecticut is Poised to Lose More Residents If It Fails to Fix Affordability
Widow of fallen Delaware state trooper launches foundation in his memory
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
Appeals court declares DC ban on certain gun magazines unconstitutional
‘No deal with Iran except unconditional surrender,’ Trump says
A dead woman’s key fob and two grisly crime scenes: How the Utah triple-murder suspect was tracked across state lines | CNN
DOJ continues Biden autopen probe despite former president unlikely to face charges
Fact check: Did French border guards mock influencers returning from Dubai amid Iran war?
-
World1 week agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Wisconsin5 days agoSetting sail on iceboats across a frozen lake in Wisconsin
-
Massachusetts4 days agoMassachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks
-
Massachusetts1 week agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Maryland6 days agoAM showers Sunday in Maryland
-
Florida6 days agoFlorida man rescued after being stuck in shoulder-deep mud for days
-
Denver, CO1 week ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Oregon1 week ago2026 OSAA Oregon Wrestling State Championship Results And Brackets – FloWrestling