Huff, Lorient lead West Virginia past No. 19 BYU, 79-71

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BYU forward AJ Dybantsa (3) is defended by West Virginia forward Brenen Lorient (0) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in Morgantown, W.Va. (AP Photo/Kathleen Batten)

West Virginia players celebrate after scoring against BYU during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in Morgantown, W.Va. (AP Photo/Kathleen Batten) — BYU forward AJ Dybantsa (3) is defended by West Virginia forward Brenen Lorient (0) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in Morgantown, W.Va. (AP Photo/Kathleen Batten)

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5:09 PM on Saturday, February 28

By JOHN RABY

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Honor Huff scored 19 points, Brenen Lorient added 18 and West Virginia led the entire second half and beat No. 19 BYU 79-71 on Saturday night.

DJ Thomas added 13 points and Jasper Floyd and Chance Moore had 11 apiece for the Mountaineers (17-12, 8-8 Big 12).

Robert Wright III scored 23 points and AJ Dybantsa added 20 for BYU (20-9, 8-8), which couldn’t make up a double-digit halftime deficit for the second straight game. The Cougars have lost two straight and eight of 12.

Keba Keita’s steal and layup brought BYU to 74-71 with 1:11 left. But the Cougars didn’t score again. BYU had two chances to tie it following steals, but turned the ball over on consecutive possessions.

West Virginia made 5 of 6 free throws the final 26 seconds. The Mountaineers broke a three-game losing streak and improved to 2-4 against AP Top 25 opponents.

West Virginia forced nine BYU turnovers in the first half and used a 20-5 run, including 11 points from Moore, to take a 40-26 halftime lead.

Dybantsa, who could be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA draft, was limited to four points on 1-of-4 shooting in the first half. He bounced back to make 6 of 11 shots after halftime. He scored 11 points over a five-minute stretch midway through the second half, but BYU had trouble corralling rebounds and trailed over the final 27 minutes of the game.

Up next

BYU: At Cincinnati on Tuesday night.

West Virginia: At Kansas State on Tuesday night.

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