Eaglestaff Leads the Charge as West Virginia Outlasts Colorado in Physical Big 12 Battle
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - On a night when West Virginia needed a statement win to stay in the thick of the Big 12 hunt, senior guard Treysen Eaglestaff delivered. And then some.
Eaglestaff poured in a game-high 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting - his second-best scoring performance of the season - to lead the Mountaineers past Colorado, 72-61, in front of a raucous Hope Coliseum crowd. He knocked down three triples, attacked the rim with confidence, and set the tone early in what turned into a gritty, back-and-forth matchup.
“I thought Trey got us off to an awesome start,” said head coach Ross Hodge. “It was kind of a hard-fought, back-and-forth (game).”
That it was. West Virginia (12-5, 3-2 Big 12) came out swinging, building a 12-point cushion in the early going.
But Colorado, as they've done all season, refused to fold. A seven-point burst - capped by a Sebastian Rancik three - cut the Mountaineers’ lead to just three.
Bangot Dak’s layup with 3:29 left in the half kept it there.
But West Virginia closed the first half strong, using a 6-2 run to take a 36-29 lead into the locker room. That late push proved crucial, especially with Colorado’s reputation for second-half surges.
And sure enough, the Buffaloes came out of the break with renewed energy. They ripped off a 14-6 run behind buckets from Barrington Hargress and Dak, and back-to-back threes from Alon Michaeli and Hargress. When Felix Kossaras sliced through the lane for a layup with 13:37 left, Colorado had its first - and only - lead of the night.
That lead didn’t last long.
West Virginia responded like a team that’s been through the fire. A quick five-point burst flipped the scoreboard, and after Hargress hit another three, the Mountaineers countered with an eight-point run to stretch the lead back to nine, 55-46.
Then came the dagger.
With the shot clock winding down and Colorado within striking distance, Kobe Huff found himself pinned near the sideline in front of the WVU bench. With nowhere to go, he turned and launched a desperation heave - and banked it in. The three pushed the lead to 65-56 with just over four minutes to go and sent the Mountaineer faithful into a frenzy.
Huff finished with 14 points, and his clutch shot was the defining moment of the game.
The Mountaineers didn’t let up from there. They pushed the lead to a game-high 14 with 21 seconds left before Colorado’s Isaiah Johnson knocked down a late three to close the scoring.
Statistically, the difference was clear. West Virginia shot an efficient 52% from the field (26-of-50) and absolutely owned the glass, out-rebounding Colorado 38-22 - a number that had Hodge nodding in approval.
“That stat of the night was 38 to 22 on the glass,” he said.
Colorado, now 12-6 overall and 2-3 in Big 12 play, couldn’t find a rhythm offensively. The Buffs shot just 39% from the floor and hit only seven of their 26 attempts from deep.
Hargress led the way for Colorado with 15 points. Lorient added 12 points and nine boards, while Harlan Obioha chipped in 10 and nine.
The win was more than just another notch in the standings. It came in front of 12,607 fans - many of them former Mountaineer players back in town for Varsity Club reunion weekend - and it keeps West Virginia in a four-way tie for fifth place in the Big 12 alongside Iowa State, UCF, and Kansas.
With a tough two-game road swing looming - including a showdown with top-ranked Arizona - this was one West Virginia couldn’t afford to let slip. Thanks to Eaglestaff’s hot hand, Huff’s heroics, and a team-wide commitment to rebounding, they didn’t.
As Hodge noted, Colorado is no stranger to second-half comebacks. But on this night, West Virginia had the answers - and the toughness - to close the door.