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.”
MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. — The Moundsville Police Department is investigating a pharmacy break-in that led to the theft of a large amount of narcotics.
Police said the burglary happened in the early morning hours of June 30. Investigators said the suspects broke a window, went behind the pharmacy counter and stole the narcotics.
Authorities believe the suspects are from outside the area.
Police said the suspects used a stolen Infiniti Q50. The vehicle was later recovered by Ohio authorities near Cambridge.
The investigation is ongoing and involves law enforcement agencies in multiple states.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Moundsville Police Department at 304-845-1611.
The United States Supreme Court issued its long-awaited opinion in West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox on Tuesday, ruling that states may exclude transgender athletes from competing on women’s and girls’ sports teams.
The justices were unanimous in their analysis that the laws do not violate civil rights laws. However, the court was split on whether West Virginia’s law stood up to constitutional muster.
The ruling concludes this chapter in the ongoing cultural debate. The Save Women’s Sports Act was overwhelmingly approved by the legislature and signed by then-Gov. Jim Justice in 2021, and was almost immediately challenged in court. The legal battle trudged on for the next five years on its way to becoming a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision.
Tuesday’s ruling settled the legal debate, but the court of public opinion weighed in on the issues long before the justice issued their legal opinions. According to Pew Research, 66 percent of U.S. adults support laws requiring athletes to compete on teams that match their biological sex. A Gallup poll found similar results, with 69 percent of adults supporting such laws.
West Virginia is not alone in passing a law to protect women’s and girls’ sports. Twenty-six other states have recognized the basic fact that there are differences between males and females and have chosen to pass legislation acknowledging those distinctions in athletic competition.
Lawmakers, who campaigned on protecting women’s and girls’ sports, can now tell constituents that they have fulfilled their campaign promise. The Save Women’s Sports Act is now the law of the land in West Virginia.
“I would say that for the foreseeable future, we have a very certain future for women’s sports. And here in West Virginia, we know what the rules are, we know what the law is, we know that it’s constitutional,” said West Virginia Attorney General J.B. McCuskey on Talkline.
Tuesday’s ruling also presents an opportunity for legislators to move on from the issue. Discussions surrounding the topic during the legislative session have been known to grind momentum to a halt, and Republicans running for office over the last five years have made it a centerpiece of their campaigns.
The issue is now settled, at least for now.
As J.B McCuskey cautioned,
“In the world of constitutional litigation, Dave, there’s never an end to any chapter.”
CHARLESTON, W.Va (WCHS) — As the conversation around two large transmission lines being built through parts West Virginia continues, the biggest question remaining is, will ratepayers be impacted?
The Valley North project is on the table and it would span from Putnam County to Frederick County, Maryland, totaling to 260 miles. Two new substations would also be built, one in Hardy County and the other in Frederick County Maryland.
According to the project website, these lines would strengthen the grid to deliver more reliable and affordable electricity to homes, hospitals, schools and businesses.
Energy Efficent West Virginia policy director, Emmett Pepper said, building these lines will not strengthen the power that we get at home.
“We have some of the least reliable electricity in the country here in West Virginia. That’s not because of the large transmission lines that we see their tower above us. It’s because of the local distribution lines, the ones that come close to our homes. While there can be some small amount of benefit potentially from the big transmission lines going in, it is the local lines that are the problem and that is not being addressed by this,” he said.
Lawmakers we spoke with earlier this month said between both transmission line projects, West Virginia could have to front the bill for anywhere between $440 million to $900 million.
“This is going to be more cost for rate payers and will not fix our problems here. There are other places in the region that have issues with transmission, but that’s not our issue,” Pepper said.
He said he’d like to see state leaders take action to ensure these costs don’t fall back on ratepayers.
“I think we need to have a rate payers’ bill of rights that would actually protect people and have a plan for how we’re going to deal with this so that it has less of an impact on rate payers,” he said.
Multiple open houses are scheduled for this project in West Virginia:
-Berkeley County, WV: July 7, 2026 | 4:00 – 7:30 p.m. Holiday Inn Martinsburg Foxcroft Ballroom
– Hampshire County, WV: July 8, 2026 | 4:00 – 7:30 p.m Bottling Works Event Center
– Tucker County, WV:July 8, 2026 | 4:00 – 7:30 p.m.Tucker County High School
– Hardy County, WV: July 9, 2026 | 4:00 – 7:30 p.m. Misty Mountain Event Barn
– Barbour County, WV: July 15, 2026 | 4:00 – 7:30 p.m. Philippi Middle School
– Lewis County, WV: July 16, 2026 | 4:00 – 7:30 p.m. Robert L. Bland Middle School
– Upshur County, WV: July 16, 2026 | 4:00 – 7:30 p.m. The Event Center at Brushy Fork
– Harrison County, WV: July 21, 2026 | 4:00 – 7:30 p.m. South Harrison High School
– Preston County, WV: July 21, 2026 | 4:00 – 7:30 p.m. Craig Civic Center
– Calhoun County, WV: July 22, 2026 | 4:00 – 7:30 p.m. Calhoun County Middle-High School
– Gilmer County, WV: July 22, 2026 | 4:00 – 7:30 p.m. Glenville State University Waco Center
– Braxton County, WV: July 23, 2026 | 4:00 – 7:30 p.m. Days Inn Flatwood Conference Center
– Grant County, WV: July 23, 2026 | 4:00 – 7:30 p.m. Landes Arts Center
– Kanawha County, WV: July 28, 2026 | 4:00 – 7:30 p.m. Sissonville Middle School
– Roane County, WV: July 28, 2026 | 4:00 – 7:30 p.m. Spencer Armory
– Jackson County, WV: July 29, 2026 | 4:00 – 7:30 p.m. Greene Center
– Putnam County, WV: July 29, 2026 | 4:00 – 7:30 p.m. Poca High School
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