MORGANTOWN — Though only a freshman, Terry Henderson fully comprehended the opportunity West Virginia had wasted.
“First Big 12 game, home opener, packed crowd — what more could you ask for?” he said in a rhetorical postgame moment that perfectly summarized the setting for Saturday’s 67-57 loss to Oklahoma.
“I really thought we were going to pull it out,” mused Henderson, whose 21 points were nearly half his team’s output when WVU led 43-31 with 18 minutes to play. That’s when the guard’s splendid day — and West Virginia’s hopes of a season-changing victory — suddenly fizzled.
Zero points for Henderson the rest of the way and zero teammates picking up the slack. Cue the Oklahoma comeback.
After the Sooners outscored West Virginia 16-2 in the final 5:25, Henderson didn’t want to blame his shooting touch for turning cold or WVU’s struggling to rebound after switching to a zone defense. For Henderson, there was a simpler explanation behind OU’s end surge: “They wanted it more than we did.”
For a majority of Saturday’s game, played before a season-high crowd of 12,112 at the Coliseum, the Mountaineers (7-6, 0-1 Big 12) performed like a team that could make shots and make good on Bob Huggins’ design for a midseason turnaround. Yet once the Sooners (10-3, 1-0) finally started rolling, WVU lacked the resolve to stop them.
The Sooners, just as they had done during a November nonconference meeting in Orlando, dominated the closing minutes. And in full-on acquiesce mode was West Virginia, having squandered a chance to beat a top-40 RPI team.
“I really feel like one got away today,” said WVU point guard Juwan Staten, who provided 10 points and seven assists in 36 minutes. “We had the game won. We were doing everything we needed to do.
“It just came down to about the last six minutes, where we kind of collapsed on defense — let them get second-chance opportunities, let their guards penetrate too much— and they stole the game from us.”
Romero Osby led Oklahoma with 21 points and nine rebounds, 14 points and seven boards coming in the second half.
West Virginia, which sank nine 3-pointers in the first half after averaging less than four per game, returned to its norm in the second half, going 7-of-29 (24.1 percent). The rim really tightened up during the final 8:50, when the Mountaineers made only 1-of-10 shots.
“I really feel like one got away today. We had the game won. We were doing everything we needed to do.” — WVU point guard Juwan Staten
The home team was running on fumes when Jabarie Hinds’ 3-pointer staked WVU to a 55-51 lead at the 5:44 mark. That’s when Steven Pledger, one of the top shooters in Sooners history, shook free for a 3-point answer, trimming the deficit to 55-54 and driving Huggins irate.
“The scouting report for seven days was don’t leave (Pledger),” the coach lamented. “When you spend seven days saying you can’t leave Steven Pledger, you can’t leave the guy, and we run and leave him, what is that? I don’t know.”
For Huggins, the next possession must have been even more maddening.
Staten drove the lane and dished to Aaric Murray for what looked like a sure basket. But on the way up, Murray lost the handle and the ball floated harmlessly over the rim, a one-foot airball from a 6-foot-10 center. Moments later, after Pledger missed another open 3-point try, Oklahoma’s 6-foot-3 freshman guard Buddy Heild knifed into the lane for the rebound and putback.
Though the Sooners’ 40-39 overall edge in rebounding didn’t seem so monumental, Oklahoma owned the boards in crunch time, grabbing eight of the last 10.
“We got out-toughed,” Huggins said. “I have a hard time with that honestly, because my teams have always out-rebounded people, we’ve always out-toughed people.”
“We want to reach for it and they want to go fetch it.”
Sooners coach Lon Kruger called the comeback a big step for his team, “especially in this building” where the Mountaineers were 5-0 this season.
“Anytime you play a good West Virginia club at their place and you are down 12 early in the second half, it is a tough challenge,” Kruger said. “Our guys did a pretty good job of getting some stops there at pretty critical stages.”
QUIET FRONTLINE
West Virginia continues to get minimal offense from its big men.
Murray sank two 3-pointers and scored eight points in the first 6:10, but was shut out the rest of the day on four missed shots. He had only four rebounds in 24 minutes.
Deniz Kilicli scored three points on 1-of-4 shooting, though he had six boards in 19 minutes.
WVU’s other forwards — Dominque Rutledge, Keaton Miles and Kevin Noreen — also failed to score, though Noreen had five rebounds and Rutledge four.
HENDERSON GETS HOT
With Oklahoma’s defense pinching into the lane to cut off penetration, Henderson sank 5-of-7 from 3-point range in the first half. Three time he found a void in the right corner,
“Terry Henderson is a terrific shooter, and we knew that,” Kruger said. “We were a little concerned about the penetration, but we went too far in terms of our help. They did a good job of driving and kicking, and Henderson did a good job of making shots.”
In the second half, against more man defense, he was 1-of-2 from 3-point range and 1-of-5 overall.
Said Huggins of the defensive emphasis OU placed on Henderson in the second half: “They paid a lot more attention to him. They were a lot closer. They were jumping at him. Might have bumped him a little bit to get him off balance.”
Henderson felt he “was getting open looks even when they went to playing man.” Yet despite finishing two points shy of the career-high 23 he scored in an 81-66 loss to Michigan, the freshman took small solace in his stats.
“I’m a winner and I’m used to winning,” he said. “I’ll do whatever it takes to win, whether it’s make shots or do other things.”
Gold and Blue Now Wednesday, May 22 
Gold and Blue Now 5-21-2013 
Gold and Blue Now Monday, May 20 
Sportsline: Dana Holgerson 
Randy Mazey 5-20-2013 
Oliver Luck Q&A at WVU faculty senate meeting 
27
Comments
Tony
There was a guy who chastised me for suggesting the nit was a good result for this year . Where are you now? We watch a lot of ball down in this hole. This may be the worst place huggs has ever been at this point of the season. We have no desire when the game's on the line. That can't be fixed.
January 5, 2013 at 8:43 pm | Report comment
Ed Williams
Same old thing. We're destined to be door mats in the Big 12 for both major sports. This program is going nowhere fast.
January 5, 2013 at 9:10 pm | Report comment
WVWho
How many years is Huggs going to say he needs to recruit shooters? After a while you have to wonder how poor he is doing at recruiting shooters and creators? Or, is it possible he is recruiting shooters but scaring them into submission that if they make a mistake they will get pulled? Coach is past his prime.
January 5, 2013 at 9:41 pm | Report comment
Disappointed...
WVWho - I agree with you completely! I blame Huggs on both the recruitment AND the coaching front. He spent 1 year at Kansas State and reeled in Beasley...where's our Beasley?!?! And when he does bring in some talent that obviously knows how to score before they arrive, he beats their confidence down in the dirt so far that they can't score here. I know defense and rebounding are important, but they shouldn't be the only focus. I miss Beilein!!!
January 7, 2013 at 9:01 am | Report comment
WVWho
Beilein is busy getting ready to take another team deep in the tourney...maybe Huggs can coach at Michigan next year with Beilein's players again to pretend he still has it!
January 7, 2013 at 8:39 pm | Report comment
JD
The thing that really perplexes me is that this should have been a year during which recruiting, 3 years after a final four run and Big East championship, should have really paid off. Why is this the worst team Huggs has fielded? How could we not expect so much more after so much recent success? If not now, when? I've never met the man but I have held a true respect for Bob Huggins; seems like my kind of guy. Gotta wonder why we can't attract top talent and some guys capable of scoring.
January 5, 2013 at 10:33 pm | Report comment
wvtomd
well said!
January 6, 2013 at 10:45 am | Report comment
Big Tom
big tom says, add in the 24 million dollar practice facility and wow did i ever expect more.. bet the donors wished they had bought a new mercedes instead.
January 6, 2013 at 12:26 pm | Report comment
JD
Big Tom, it looks like someone failed to tell the team that the $24M facility is open for business. Did someone lose the keys to the building? Surely we can get another copy...
January 7, 2013 at 11:20 am | Report comment
Robert
I think there is good young talent on this team, but Huggs is just not going to sit Kilicili. So unlike the football team i can at least look forward to next year.
January 5, 2013 at 10:58 pm | Report comment
David
“I really feel like one got away today. We had the game won. We were doing everything we needed to do. — WVU point guard Juwan Staten
And that my friends is the problem. You never have a game won in anything until the darn thing is over.
January 5, 2013 at 11:20 pm | Report comment
Larry
How is it possible for a team to play so good in the first half, and then so poorly in the second half?
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I always thought the purpose of "Halftime" was for the coaches to make adjustments and give a "Pep Talk" to inspire the players for the second half.
What was it that Bob "Hall of Fame" Huggins said to these kids at halftime? The second half collaspe and meltdown was epic...
January 5, 2013 at 11:26 pm | Report comment
joey
dennis is the worst d-1 player i think i have ever seen. wvu had a 12 point lead when he came on the floor. six straight points in the paint for sooners. 6'9" 270# and cannot finish under the basket,50% free throw shooter 25% or less from floor, maybe 2 rebounds per game. he was better as freshman. prime time pine time canidate. any lead wvu has, soon disappears with him on the floor.
January 6, 2013 at 6:23 am | Report comment
Thom
The major aspect of playing sports is mental. Apparently, this team cannot stay focused for a full game. Secondly, they just aren't tough enough. They don't to seem to have the motivation to win. They just haven't learned what it means to be a Mountaineer!!
This is the lowest point in Mountaineer sports, both football and basketball, that I have ever seen and I have seen a lot of seasons.
January 6, 2013 at 6:25 am | Report comment
Ray
I am fed up with watching both the football and basketball WV sport programs become bottom feeders. I was at the Oklahoma basketball game and witnessed one of the worst collapses I have ever seen. We were out toughed, out hustled, out played, and out coached. This team didn't even try to compete in the last 8 minutes of the game - they gave up. Huggins needs to improve on his selection of recruits and get players who can actually shoot and have grit.
January 6, 2013 at 7:05 am | Report comment
JimJim
Do the airlines serve peanuts on those long flights to the Big 12 games? It looks as if that's the only thing we have to look forward to!
January 6, 2013 at 8:11 am | Report comment
Jethro
This is a year of low expectations. These players just don't have it mentally to finish the game. Maybe huggs old school motivational methods don't work anymore with these pampered generation of kids these days.
January 6, 2013 at 8:17 am | Report comment
joey
the only senior on the team is lazy, unmotivated, and can,t finish. the rest of the team takes on his persona when is on the floor.
January 6, 2013 at 9:17 am | Report comment
Bobby T
You saw how far Huggins got with Beilein's recruits, and look where Huggins is. Maybe Huggins needs another pay raise.
January 6, 2013 at 10:11 am | Report comment
Dave Warnick
It looks like the basketball team has been taking lessons from the football team.
January 6, 2013 at 12:06 pm | Report comment