Ross Hodge Takes Blame for Final-Seconds WVU Basketball Blunder

WVU basketball let a lead in the final minutes slip away Friday night against Clemson, but had a chance to tie in the final seconds nonetheless. West Virginia lost the game 70-67.

After junior forward Carter Wellings missed a free throw, keeping the lead at three points with under 10 seconds remaining. fifth-year guard Chance Moore took the ball in transition and passed it to a wide-open senior forward Brenen Lorient for an easy dunk.

However, the dunk was easy because Clemson knew they could live with the two-point score. The Tigers ended up with a one-point lead with just 1.5 seconds remaining.

The Mountaineers had a timeout that went unused in the situation. Head coach Ross Hodge took accountability in the postgame press conference.

“One-hundred percent my fault. One-hundred percent on me. I should have called a timeout. Saw it kind of like seeing a train wreck happen right in front of your eyes and you freeze. Again, that was 100% my fault. Should have got the trail official. Should have got the timeout and not even put B-Lo in that position.”

When asked about the players’ decision to go for the two, not realizing the situation, Hodge further

“Players play and coaches coach and that was my fault,” Hodge said.

WVU basketball gave up 45 points in the second half as Clemson shot 56% from the floor and 55.6% from three-point range.

“Simply put, I felt like down the stretch they were able to execute at a higher level than we were. They got the ball where they wanted it. They finished. We had a hard time getting the ball where we wanted and when we did, we didn’t finish,” Hodge said.

WVU basketball will take the court again at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday when it plays Georgia or Xavier in the next round of the Shriner’s Children’s Charleston Classic in Charleston, S.C.

Find more coverage of WVU basketball at WV Sports Now.