Mountaineers End Skid, Handles Bearcats

West Virginia gets back to .500 in the Big 12 Conference standings after taking down Cincinnati

Feb 2, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Javon Small (7) reacts to a teammate during the game against the Cincinnati Bearcats in the first half at Fifth Third Arena. / Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

CINCINNATI – West Virginia senior guard Javon Small led all scorers with 19 points and dished nine assists while senior guard Joseph Yesufu gave the Mountaineers (14-7, 5-5) a lift with 16 points to take down the Cincinnati Bearcats (12-9, 2-8) Sunday afternoon 63-50.

West Virginia got a good look early on its first possession of the game with a layup from senior guard Toby Okani.

The pace of the game was slow to start but Javon Small started to heat up, hitting consecutive threes for a 9-6 lead at the 14:57 mark of the first half.

Cincinnati tied the game at 11 following a three from freshman forward Tyler Betsy but the Mountaineers put together a quick 8-0 run with threes from freshman guard Jonathan Powell and Small before senior guard Joseph extend the run to 11-2 with a deep straightaway three as the shot clock expired to give WVU a 22-13 lead with 9:23 remaining in the first half.

West Virginia sophomore guard Sencire Harris deflected the ball in the backcourt, Powell scooped it up for the lay-in, and the Mountaineers stretched its lead to 15 with Small delivering an alley-oop pass to senior center Eduardo Andre for the 31-16 lead with 5:46 left to play in the half.

After the Bearcats cut the West Virginia lead to 10, the Mountaineers went on a 6-0 spurt with Small recording his 14th point of the first half with a drive down the lane for the layup to help build the largest WVU lead of the half to 16.

Cincinnati was looking to create some momentum heading into halftime after a bucket and a pair of free throws, but Yesufu buried a three to end the half and the Mountaineers held a 40-25 lead at halftime.

West Virginia was held scoreless for nearly four minutes to begin the second half until Javon Small hit his fourth three of the game to put the Mountaineers up sixteen, 43-27.

Following an efficient 55.2% from the field, including 6-11 from three-point range in the first half. The Mountaineers cooled off in the second, but the West Virginia defense continued to hold the Bearcats to under 30% from the floor and forced Cincinnati’s 13th turnover of the game after Andre hustled back on defense, freeing Powell to enter the passing lane for the steal then the dunk and Yesufu followed with consecutive threes to cap a 10-2 run for a 59-37 advantage with 7:47 remaining in the game.

Cincinnati responded with a 6-0 run, prompting WVU head coach Darian DeVries to call a timeout. However, the Bearcats extended their run to 13-2 after a three from Rayvon Griffin to dwindle the WVU lead to eleven, 61-50 with 3:25 left to play.

Joseph Yesufu ended thee run with a bucket as the Mountaineers held off the Bearcats surge for the 63-50 victory.