West Virginia
Baylor stymies WVU as Mountaineers suffer first home loss, 63-53 – WV MetroNews
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Through a lengthy stretch of play in the second half, the game was there for the taking for both Baylor and West Virginia despite long scoring droughts from both sides. Ultimately, the Bears connected on their final four shots from the floor and six of their last seven to supply the winning margin in a 63-53 win over the Mountaineers.
Baylor (12-9, 2-7 Big 12) earned just their second road victory of the season while handing the Mountaineers their first loss of the year inside Hope Coliseum.
“We finally defended at a level where we could win a tough game like this,” said Baylor head coach Scott Drew.
“It is so tough when you get on a losing streak because you don’t have an easy game where you can win by 30 to bounce back. You’ve got to be on your A-game to get a win. It is hard being on a losing streak. Once you get them snapped, at least for one day you feel better.”
West Virginia connected on just 18 of 50 shots from the floor in their second-worst shooting performance of the season and their worst at home.
“We just couldn’t get over that hump, whether it was missing open shots or just empty possessions,” said WVU senior forward Treysen Eaglestaff.
“Individually, we all have to play better, especially myself. There were too many turnovers at the end of the game. Stuff like that — open shots missed, you’ve just got to be a player at the end of the day. We’re playing at the highest level of college basketball. For all of us, we just need to get better individually and get back to work.”
“It was a combination of having some pretty good looks that we just couldn’t get to go down. And then we had some possessions that were poorly-coached possessions,” said WVU head coach Ross Hodge.
For the fourth consecutive game, West Virginia found themselves operating from a sizable deficit in the early minutes. WVU trailed 13-4 just 4:29 into the contest.
“I thought our urgency defensively to start the game wasn’t at the level it needed to be. Then you start letting them get into a rhythm, start making some threes and dig ourselves a hole, which now has started to become a little bit of a trend the last four games,” Hodge said.
“It starts with me, obviously. Everything that happens poorly in this program is on me. If it is a slow start, if it is not finishing great, if it is poor stretches of play, ultimately it is on the head coach. We’ll evaluate it all. You go back, look at your possessions and try to take emotions out of it and be as objective as you can.”
Despite the early deficit, WVU used a 9-0 run and a pair of triples from Eaglestaff to take a three-point lead [20-17] midway through the first half. However, the Bears answered with a 15-4 burst and they took a 38-30 lead into the locker room.
Consecutive baskets to open the second half extended Baylor’s lead to 42-30, forcing Hodge to call a quick timeout just 90 seconds into the half. Brenen Lorient scored nine consecutive points to keep the Mountaineers close. They would pull within three points with 11:29 to play. Lorient led all scorers with 19 points.
“Honor [Huff] creates a lot of energy around him,” Lorient said. “Those guys want to help out. Honor was just setting me up really nicely.”
In the second half, Baylor misfired on 13 consecutive shots from the floor. However, the Mountaineers were unable to capitalize. Over nearly the same stretch of play, WVU missed 11 of 12 shots from the floor.
“You talk about it in timeouts. ‘You don’t have to press offensively but you do have to play with a higher level of desperation and urgency on the defensive end of the floor’,” Hodge said.
A basket from Chance Moore with 2:38 to play allowed the Mountaineers to pull within five points [54-49], but they could pull no closer.
Huff was held to a season-low five points. He made just 1 of 13 shots from the floor.
“He has certainly raised the bar from an expectation level,” Hodge said. “When he shoots it, you think it is going in regardless of how deep it is or difficult it is.”
Obi Agbim and Cameron Carr each scored 16 points to lead the Bears. Carr also pulled down a dozen rebounds.
“He’s a great player,” Hodge said of Carr. “You knew he was going to bounce back. He had a rough night at Cincinnati the other night and he did what great players do. He came in with a high-level sense of urgency.”
West Virginia (14-8) has reached the midway point of Big 12 play with a 5-4 league record. They are now 13-1 at home.
“We take a lot of pride in protecting this place,” Hodge said. “Obviously, we have an incredible fanbase. They tried everything they could to get us in that game today. They tried to will us into it.”
“Our fans have helped us in so many games to get so many wins,” Lorient said. “We weren’t able to get that done for them tonight. We just, in the past couple games, we’ve got to start better.
“[Hodge’s] overall message was that we are not great. We are not terrible. We’ve just got some things we’ve got to clean up, take care of the ball more and rebound better.”
Morgantown H.S. graduate & USMC Master Gunnery Sgt. Peter Wilson performs “The Star-Spangled Banner” prior to the WVU-Baylor game at Hope Coliseum: pic.twitter.com/OrKt02FmEd
— Joe Brocato (@joebrowvm) January 31, 2026
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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