West Virginia
Having scraped past West Virginia 73-69 on Tuesday night in Morgantown, BYU turns its attention to red-hot Kansas State
BYU basketball coach Kevin Young has said throughout his first season in Provo that the Cougars’ outstanding depth has been both a blessing and a curse.
“Probably our best team win of the year, just in terms of guys staying ready, not sulking or pouting on the bench, being ready to come in and contribute.”
— BYU coach Kevin Young
Tuesday night at West Virginia, it was definitely a blessing.
Non-starters such as Kanon Catchings, Mihailo Boskovic, Trey Stewart and Fousseyni Traore were instrumental in the Cougars’ 73-69 win in front of 10,879 at WVU Coliseum as BYU beat West Virginia for the second time in two years on the Mountaineers’ home floor.
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“Gutsy win by our guys,” Young said. “Probably our best team win of the year, just in terms of guys staying ready, not sulking or pouting on the bench, being ready to come in and contribute.”
Before delivering his postgame thoughts, Young honored former BYU basketball player Jake Shoff, who died in a car accident on I-15 last week.
BYU’s bench outscored WVU’s bench 38-18, as Young went with some unconventional lineups down the stretch, and Boskovic, for one, delivered in a big way. The 6-foot-10 junior from Uzice, Serbia, had six points and two rebounds in nine minutes of play and made the game-sealing 3-point play in the final 10 seconds.
“The play was designed to get Richie (Saunders) coming off the screen and kinda have Mihailo slip behind it. The guys really executed well on that last play,” Young said.
Boskovic and Egor Demin (16 points) were chosen to represent BYU at the postgame news conference in Morgantown and Boskovic spoke humbly when was asked about his driving layup with 9.3 seconds left, and free throw, that gave the Cougars a 73-69 lead.
“With the way we were playing, we were really determined,” Boskovic said. “When we do what we do best, we play really great. That 3-point play was at the end. I am glad we won on that. In this environment where it is hard to play, it is a great win.”
West Virginia led for more than 31 minutes of game time, while BYU led for only five minutes and 34 seconds. BYU used a 17-7 run in the final six minutes to steal it.
The difference between winning and losing in the Big 12 “is so marginal,” Young said. “Every little thing matters. … This league is extremely challenging. This is my first year in it, so I am learning on the fly. Every environment is tough to play in. Walking in here and seeing the sheer size of it (is overwhelming). You gotta be able to execute under very high pressure situations.”
That’s exactly what BYU did, most notably Stewart and defensive specialist Mawot Mag, who limited WVU’s Javon Small to four shots, including just one shot in the second half.
Young said forcing the 6-foot-3 Small to his right, not letting him get to his dominant left hand, was a big part of the game plan.
“He is one of the guys that I am really impressed with in this league. We put a ton of time into studying his game,” Young said. “Credit goes to Mawot Mag and Trey Stewart and the rest of our guys behind him. That’s something we talked about a lot. He is a tough cover with one-on-ones. We wanted to defend him with more than one guy.”
Although Boskovic gobbled up some minutes that usually go to them, Traore and Catchings also made clutch plays in crunch time. Catchings added 11 points and Traore had seven.
“I think we had a different disposition, a different mentality,” Young said. “I have been on our guys a lot (about that). As a coach, you think scheme, scheme, scheme. But sometimes it just comes down to toughness, just ball toughness and getting to where you want to get to. The officials were letting a lot go. I thought it was a little too physical, honestly. But our guys played through it.”
Young also praised the environment, calling it “really mind-blowing, to be honest.”
The coach said that through his time in the NBA he has met three of West Virginia’s greatest basketball players — Rod Thorn, Jerry West and former Utah Jazz broadcaster Hot Rod Hundley. Young said that after BYU’s shootaround on Tuesday morning, he went out and took a picture of West’s statue.
Next up for BYU (16-8, 7-6) is a showdown at the Marriott Center on Saturday (7 p.m. MST, ESPN+) against red-hot Kansas State. The Wildcats have won six straight games after a 1-6 start in Big 12 play, most recently a 73-70 victory over No. 13 Arizona.
They also defeated nationally ranked Kansas and Iowa State during that stretch.
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West Virginia
Charleston commemorates Juneteenth with downtown parade and celebration – WV MetroNews
CHARLESTON, W.Va – Charleston is celebrating Juneteenth with its annual parade, followed by a celebration in Slack Plaza featuring live entertainment, food, educational exhibits, and more.
The parade stepped off from the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center at 11:30 on Friday with a long line of organizations participating and several community members recognized as “Mr. and Miss Juneteenth.” Smiles dotted the procession as organizers watched a community come together.
“It’s just a wonderful thing when we can bring the community together to celebrate freedom, and here in West Virginia, we’ve had some challenges because they’ve said that Juneteenth is not a state holiday, but our people are still celebrating,” parade chairperson Karen Williams said.
The parade marked the start of an entire day recognizing the history of Juneteenth, the emancipation of more than 250,000 enslaved Black people when the Union Army arrived at Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865. With the last stronghold of slavery in the Confederate States eradicated that day, June 19 came to be celebrated as a second independence day, and President Joe Biden established it as a national holiday in 2021.
In West Virginia, former Gov. Jim Justice was the first to declare a state holiday and did so in each of his last four years in office. Gov. Patrick Morrisey recognized Juneteenth with a proclamation on Friday but has not declared a state holiday in 2025 or 2026.
“Representation really matters, so seeing Black queens and Black kings roaming the streets of Charleston is a beautiful thing, and it’s a needed thing. I think there’s a lot more people that aren’t going to celebrate Juneteenth than people that are, so I think it’s really important that we continue to celebrate this holiday and show why it’s important,” Miss Juneteenth Adult Keyarna Frederick said.
Different groups from around the Kanawha Valley came out to participate from businesses and youth organizations to political committees and arts collectives. Williams believes that shows that Juneteenth is a day for the entire community to celebrate.
“Appalachian people have always grown up and lived together, and what we want—we want people to continue that. We want people to continue to be together. We’re not saying this is a Black event or a white event. We welcome all people to come and participate,” she said.
The parade route echoed her sentiment as nearly everyone who joined the parade shared handshakes, high-fives, and hugs. That spirit of togetherness spoke to the day’s honorees as well.
“It’s definitely something that we should all be celebrating. It’s for all of us, not just for a certain color or a certain kind. It’s for all of us, so I believe everyone should be celebrating this day,” Mr. Juneteenth Adult Edward Frederick said.
“This is my first time in the parade. It’s so beautiful. It’s so amazing to see different organizations a part of the parade, seeing how much muscle has went into even doing something like this, so I think it’s a beautiful thing for Charleston,” Keyarna Frederick added.
From the parade to the activities in Slack Plaza, the day’s organizers sought to create an environment to celebrate Juneteenth with a spirit of unity. Williams hopes that anyone that joined or watched felt that along the way.
“I want them to see that we are Almost Heaven, West Virginia; that we are celebrating freedom; and that we are a community that embraces one another,” she said.
BOONE COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) – We have a traffic alert for drivers in the Danville area of Boone County.
Starting on Friday, they should expect delays as crew perform work on the Jill Micah Hess Bridge along U.S. 119.
According to the West Virginia Department of Transportation, northbound traffic will be shifted from the slow lane to the fast lane.
This will take place from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and drivers are asked to expect delays.
Copyright 2026 WSAZ. All rights reserved.
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