PROVO — Not even a late flurry by the nation's leading scorer could keep No. 19 BYU men's basketball from another road loss.
AJ Dybantsa had 20 points and seven rebounds, but the Cougars couldn't recover from a 14-point halftime deficit in a 79-71 loss to West Virginia at Hope Coliseum in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Honor Huff scored 11 of his team-high 19 points in the second half, and West Virginia had five double-digit scorers to hand BYU a second straight loss in Big 12 play.
Brenen Lorient added 18 points, nine rebounds and three assists for the Mountaineers; and DJ Thomas scored 13 to lead a 24-12 advantage off the bench.
It's the first win over BYU for West Virginia (17-12, 8-8 Big 12) since the Cougars join the Mountaineers' conference three years ago.
Robert Wright III had 23 points, four rebounds and four assists to lead BYU, which lost for the third time in four games since Richie Saunders' season-ending ACL injury Feb. 14 in an overtime win over Colorado and follows a loss as a double-digit home favorite against UCF.
BYU outshot the Mountaineers 47.1% to 43.5% in just the second loss by a Kevin Young-coached team while outshooting an opponent. West Virginia shot 27-of-62 from the field, including 8-of-25 from 3-point range, compared to the Cougars' 24-of-51, with 9-of-24 from deep.
Instead, it was another poor start that ultimately doomed the Cougars.
Upset in Morgantown!
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 1, 2026
West Virginia takes down No. 19 BYU 😤 pic.twitter.com/LohSw6tJh1
Thomas scored 11 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting in the first half to lift the Mountaineers to a 40-26 advantage after 20 minutes.
Dybantsa was limited to just 4 points at halftime, but the five-star freshman came alive after the break with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting including a 3-pointer with 1:57 left that brought BYU within three, 72-69.
But the Cougars could get no closer as West Virginia closed out a game where it shot 17-of-22 from the free-throw line, including five-straight in the final 26 seconds.
BYU travels to Cincinnati for a Tuesday night tipoff (7 p.m. MST, ESPN2) before returning home to wrap up the regular season Saturday against No. 16 Texas Tech (8:30 p.m. MST, ESPN).
