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NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Bob Huggins fielded several questions about why his team fell apart late in a loss to Oklahoma.
West Virginia's moody, normally talkative coach deflected many of them and summed it up rather quickly.
"We just didn't do a very good job," he said.
Cameron Clark had 19 points and 10 rebounds in his final home game to help No. 23 Oklahoma defeat West Virginia 72-62 on Wednesday night. Buddy Hield scored 12 of his 13 points in the second half and Je'lon Hornbeak added 11 points for the Sooners (22-8, 11-6 Big 12), who split the season series with the Mountaineers.
Hield hit four 3-pointers during a torrid stretch of 3 minutes, 38 seconds to put the Sooners up 59-50 with six minutes to play, and Oklahoma cruised from there. Huggins said his players ignored the scouting report.
"I thought we knew who he was," Huggins said. "Some of our guys must not have knew who he was."
Juwan Staten scored 23 points, Devin Williams had 14 points and 12 rebounds and Gary Browne added 12 points for the Mountaineers. Eron Harris, who averages 18 points for West Virginia (16-14, 8-9), finished with five on 2-for-9 shooting.
Oklahoma outscored West Virginia 15-4 from the free-throw line. The Mountaineers missed their first six free throws before making a pair with four minutes remaining in the game.
Hield, Oklahoma's leading scorer for the season, scored one point on 0-for-4 shooting in the first half.
Staten scored 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting in the first eight minutes to give the Mountaineers a 12-10 lead. His first miss came on his sixth shot with about 10 minutes left in the first half.
West Virginia starters Harris and Nathan Adrien each committed two fouls in the first 10 minutes. Both went scoreless in the first half.
Jordan Woodard's spinning pass to Ryan Spangler led to a dunk and gave Oklahoma a 23-20 lead.
Frank Booker drained a 3-pointer and Hornbeak made a layup to push the Sooners' edge to 33-22.
Staten's bucket in the closing seconds of the first half trimmed Oklahoma's edge to 33-28 at the break. Staten made 8 of 15 shots and scored 16 points in the first half, but his teammates made just 5 of 20 and scored just 12 points. West Virginia did not attempt a free throw in the first half while Oklahoma made 6 of 9.
"At some point, it seemed like no one was making shots but Juwan," Browne said. "We weren't making shots and they were making shots. Sometimes, they were wide open. We can't let that happen."
West Virginia controlled the tempo and shot better early in the second half. Harris made a 3-pointer for his first points to give West Virginia a 41-40 lead with just under 13 minutes to play.
Hield got hot, and the game was over. The lack of effort left Huggins deflated.
"Kevin Noreen doesn't run as well as everybody else runs," Huggins said. "He's not as good an athlete. If he can get back (on defense), why can't the rest of them get back?"
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