MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Nestled somewhere inside D.J. Thomas’ stat line on Thursday was the hidden fact that the young freshman stepped up and handed West Virginia a 59-54 victory over Cincinnati inside Fifth Third Arena.

It was hidden for several reasons, beginning with WVU (15-8, 6-4 Big 12) again playing poorly early and trailing by 14 points a few minutes into the second half. The fact the Mountaineers came back to win it at all was a case for research.

That research said it was WVU’s largest comeback win since erasing a 17-point deficit in the second half against Kansas State in 2022.

“We’ve talked ad nauseum a little bit here about our starts,” WVU head coach Ross Hodge said on his postgame radio show. “Maybe I just don’t need to talk about it. I thought we were a step slow. We made some scouting-report mistakes. Offensively, we weren’t in a great rhythm and I do think you start squeezing a little bit.”

Thomas’ efforts were also outshined by teammate Honor Huff, who simply had a second half to remember. After being held scoreless and attempting only two shots in the first half, Huff literally caught fire in the final 20 minutes.

A game after finishing 1 of 13 shooting in a loss against Baylor, Huff scored 14 straight points at one point in the second half. He nailed three 3-pointers that were the types of shots with a severe degree of difficulty. A hand, sometimes two or three, was in his face at all times, but it didn’t matter.

At another point, Huff got Cincinnati guard Sencire Harris off his feet and drove right past him. Harris gave Huff a little shove in the side just as the WVU guard let a floater fly through the air. It went it, too, and Huff nailed the free throw for yet another 3-point play that cut the Bearcats’ lead down to 40-37 with 12:01 still remaining in the game.

At that point, the WVU guard had scored 12 straight in the span of two minutes, 37 seconds. Huff finished it off with yet another drive to the basket. He was fouled and missed the free throw, but it was a brand new game at that point.

“Obviously, Honor’s shot making in the second half is what people will pay attention to,” Hodge said.

It wasn’t quite the difference, though. That honor – no pun intended – belonged to Thomas, a young man who hadn’t scored more than five points in a game since Jan. 13.

West Virginia took its first lead of the game with 10:12 remaining after Treysen Eaglestaff nailed a 3-pointer for a 42-40 lead, but the scene was set when Cincinnati guard Jizzle James tied the game at 46 with his own three with 6:09 remaining and then teammate Tyler McKinley went 1 for 2 at the foul line for a 47-46 advantage.

WVU answered with Jasper Floyd driving through the lane and making a pass to the corner for Thomas, who made the shot of the game with a 3-pointer that gave WVU the lead for good, 49-47 with 4:03 remaining.

“Jasper made a great play. Honor set a great screen that kind of parted the Red Sea and their forward came out,” Hodge said. “That was part of the reason we felt good going with D.J., is because he provides space and he made two big ones.”

The other “big one” came moments later. Thomas found himself open near the top of the arc and nailed another 3-pointer for a 53-49 that sealed a season sweep of Cincinnati (11-12, 3-7) for a second consecutive season.

In all, Thomas finished with 14 points on 4 of 6 shooting. It was just the seventh time the freshman from Allen, Texas has scored in double figures.

The Bearcats played without 7-foot-1 center Moustapha Thiam, who was injured in Cincinnati’s loss against Houston last weekend. Without him on the floor, WVU was able to hold its own on the glass, as Cincinnati finished with just a 34-33 edge on the boards.

WVU, which went 0 for 9 on 3-pointers in the first half, nailed six of them in the second half and the Mountaineers finished with a 26-18 advantage in points in the paint.

Huff finished with 16 points – all in the second half – and Brenen Lorient added 11 for the Mountaineers, who return home Sunday to face No. 13 Texas Tech.

“We knew it was going to be hard and you have to embrace that,” Hodge said. “It wasn’t going to, like, you’re going to feel good with a lot of space. It wasn’t going to be that type of game. To our guys’ credit, they did it, man.”