MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A full student section stormed the court. Four Mountaineers jumped up to stand on the scorers table. Hugs, handshakes and high fives were exchanged by members of the WVU coaching staff.
Jan 18, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Toby Okani (5) celebrates with fans after defeating the Iowa State Cyclones at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images
West Virginia collected their third victory this season over a Top 10 team in a 64-57 triumph over Iowa State in front of a sellout crowd Saturday at the Coliseum.
An announced crowd of 14,444 on Jerry West Day did their part to get the Mountaineers over the line in the final minutes as they closed the game on a 15-8 run over the final three minutes.
“It was amazing,” said WVU fifth year center Eduardo Andre. “They get you going. When they are yelling, you want to go even harder. You don’t get tired because you are feeding off the crowd. That’s what we need every game. We need a sold-out crowd every game.”
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“I am excited for our fan base,” said WVU head coach Darian DeVries. “They had a hand in this one tonight. There’s some very tough places to play in the Big 12. We want our place to certainly be one of them. I felt like it was tonight and the crowd did their part. We had to do our part. But I thought the crowd was very engaged and helped us down the stretch.”
Wren Baker and Darian DeVries celebrate WVU’s 64-57 win over No. 2 Iowa State: pic.twitter.com/opIkwtkck8
Jan 18, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Javon Small (7) drives down the lane against Iowa State Cyclones guard Curtis Jones (5) and Iowa State Cyclones guard Keshon Gilbert (10) during the first half at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images
Senior guard Javon Small made just one of his first six shots from the floor in the game but he scored a dozen consecutive points in the closing stretch. Small finished the contest making 9-of-16 shots from the floor with 27 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals.
“He is the Big 12 Player of the Year,” Andre said.
“It is not all about scoring for me. It is just whatever I’ve got to do to help my teammates,” Small said.”
“Like a lot of great players, and it is really fun when you are a coach of one of those, you can tell when they are in that zone,” DeVries said. “You can see it in his eyes. He wanted to take that game over. He even had another three with three minutes to go. I have seen Javon in practice and in games, when he gets in a zone, he is really, really good.”
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After a 1-1 week, the Mountaineers will almost certainly reenter the AP Top 25 poll on Monday. West Virginia (13-4, 4-2 Big 12) is tied for fourth in the Big 12 standings and they check in at No. 30 in Sunday’s NCAA NET ratings.
If the Mountaineers can maintain their level of play throughout the second half of their regular season schedule, an NCAA Tournament berth seems very much in reach.
“Like we have talked about with our team from day one, don’t limit yourself on anything. We’re going to come and we’re going to compete. These are the things we feel like we need to be good at to win. Let’s go try and do that,” DeVries said.
“I have never been a guy that was like, ‘Hey, we need to win this many games to be successful’. It is more about how we can maximize this group. If you can do that, your goal is that those wins follow. I think our guys are giving us everything they’ve got. They don’t play perfect every night and I don’t ask them to do that. Just leave it out there. They’ve done a great job of doing that so far this season.”
“We understand how big and how important the game was,” said Small. “We just can’t come out here on Tuesday against Arizona State and blow it off. We just have to keep building up momentum and racking up dubs.”
INSTITUTE, W.Va. — The Institute Fire Department has called a precautionary shelter-in-place for those living in close proximity to the Catalyst Refiners plant.
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According to Kanawha County Emergency Manager C.W. Sigman said there was an incident involving an acid-based material at around 9:30 .am. Wednesday.
According to Sigman, most of the material which was spilled was inside a building and it largely contained and the shelter-in-place is precautionary.
Emergency crews are on the scene treating multiple patents at the plant. The extent of injuries is not known.
A media briefing has been scheduled for 2 p.m.
CAMC/Vandalia confirmed they were preparing for patients as is WVU Medicine Thomas Hospital where they’ve activated their Incident Command Center.
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The plant is located between Institute and Nitro. The roadway is shut down on 1st Ave S in Institute from New Goff Mountain Rd to Kilowatt Rd.
The shelter-in-place is for a one-mile radius of the plant and includes the West Virginia State University campus.
The shelter-in-place put into effect for St. Albans was lifted at 10:30 a.m.
CHARLESTON, W.Va (WCHS) — The West Virginia PSC held a public comment hearing on Tuesday regarding West Virginia American Water taking over Lincoln Lincoln Public Service District.
Only one person spoke out sharing what they’d like to see done if West Virginia American Water acquires the Lincoln PSD.
“If the company wants to get to folks who really need water, they should be looking at areas where drilling well is nearly impossible, like mine, which is actually closer to the lines than some of the places they mention in their filing. My neighbors and I live closer to the main water lines than the proposed Sugar Tree Road extension or the one and a half miles out to the campground that they plan on serving,” a Lincoln PSD customer shared during the meeting.
Lincoln PSD issued a boil water advisory on January 26th, and it wasn’t lifted until March 31st, leaving some customers not able to use what was coming out of their faucets.
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Just last year, the Lincoln County Commission voted to move forward with the dissolution of the Lincoln PSD, but, in September, the district filed a petition to stop the sale to West Virginia American Water. Soon after in November, PSC staff submitted a request asking the applicants to give specific financial information.
West Virginia American Water issued the following statement at Tuesday’s meeting:
“West Virginia American Water has been working collaboratively with the Lincoln County Commission and the Lincoln County Public Service District Board regarding the possible acquisition of the Lincoln County Public Service District. The proposal would involve the purchase of the 2,532-customer system. We appreciate the opportunity for public input and look forward to continuing to work through the Public Service Commission’s review process.”
Lincoln PSD customers received a letter in the mail this week stating that the system violated drinking water monitoring requirements. The utility noted what was done to correct the situation and added that customers are not at risk.
Customers were also alerted Tuesday night of a boil water notice tonight due to a recent inspection concluding that the utility is not currently meeting the minimum disinfection requirements for surface water facilities.
One of the best quarterbacks in recent memory to come through West Virginia, Will Grier, is approaching his eighth year in the NFL, which is quite the accomplishment for a backup. According to multiple reports early Tuesday morning, Grier is headed home, signing a free agent deal with the Carolina Panthers.
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Grier was selected in the third round (100th overall) by the Panthers in 2019 and, at the time, was viewed as someone who could potentially be the future face of the franchise. That plan got messed up pretty early as Ron Rivera was fired during his rookie season, ultimately replaced by Matt Rhule. That offseason, the Panthers decided to cut ties with Cam Newton and bring in Teddy Bridgewater, giving Carolina a completely different direction at quarterback.
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Following his second season with the Panthers, Grier was let go and began bouncing around the league. He spent time with the Dallas Cowboys, Cincinnati Bengals, New England Patriots, Los Angeles Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles, and then back to the Cowboys in 2024 and 2025.
Although he has only played in two regular season games in his career, Grier is widely viewed as a tremendous veteran quarterback who can bring depth to a room and serve as an extra voice for the starter to lean on. In this case, he and former Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett will fill that role for Bryce Young.
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Where Grier ranks among WVU QBs in the NFL
Nov 23, 2018; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Will Grier (7) celebrates during the second quarter against the Oklahoma Sooners at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images
Statistically, he’s not going to catch anyone unless he somehow gets thrown into a starting role at some point, but as far as longevity goes, he’s been able to stick around in the NFL longer than most former Mountaineer quarterbacks.
Geno Smith (still active) is entering his 14th year in the league, and Jeff Hostetler made it 13 years. Those are the only two WVU quarterbacks who played longer. Marc Bulger played eight years, so as long as he makes it through this season and plays in 2027, he’ll surpass him. The others? Charles Seabright (six years), Oliver Luck (four years), Pat White (one year), and Fred Wyant (one year).
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Grier will forever be remembered as one of the best to ever suit up for the Old Gold and Blue, tossing for 7,354 yards and 71 touchdowns in just two seasons in Dana Holgorsen’s offense. Following the 2018 season, he finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting, marking the highest finish for a Mountaineer since Steve Slaton in 2006.
