Ross Hodge Applauds the Defensive Effort and Brenen Lorient's Career Day

The West Virginia Mountaineers (3-0) crushed the Lehigh Mountain Hawks (1-2) Sunday evening 69-47.

West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge met with the media following the game to give his assessment of the win.

Opening Statement

I appreciate everybody coming out on a Sunday afternoon. I know there is a lot going on, a football game yesterday, a women’s (basketball) game on Friday and we’re in the midst of three games in six days ourselves. I appreciate everyone coming out. Students have been incredible all three games and everyone makes a huge difference, but there is something different about college basketball when the students are really into it and rocking it.

As far as the game went, I thought the first 15 minutes was probably the best 15 minutes of defensive basketball that we have played since we have been together. Our hand activity was really good, and we made it hard on them. That led to transition and good offensive flow. The ball was moving and kind of saw what could be our best. Everybody was involved early, everybody was making shots.

I thought (senior forward Brenen Lorient) B- Lo and (senior center) Harlan (Obioha) did a good job of anchoring us and really challenged our guys.

At halftime, we knew that they had outscored Houston in the second half at Houston, which is not easy to do, so we knew what they were capable of. We were disappointed with our start, but you also have to give them credit. It’s easy to look only at what you did or didn’t do without giving any credit to the opponent. I thought four (junior guard Joshua Ingram) had a really good start to the second half and we weathered it and we just had that one little last push at the end of the game to tie them in the second half, which is what we talked about at halftime.

Brenen Lorient’s career-high 26 points with a career best three made threes

He shot a very high percentage last year on low volume, and we’ve been talking a little bit about trying to increase his volume from there, but he’s also a very unselfish player, and he doesn’t force, and the game kind of opened up for him in that regard today. And when he’s making those, it just increases the space for everybody else and especially on a night that (senior guard) Trey (Treysen Eaglestaff) and (senior guard) Honor (Huff) didn’t shoot it great, to have him step up and go 3-for-4 really gives him what people would say, like the three-level scorer at the rim in the mid-range and then when he’s making that and he’s such a willing passer as well.

Brenan Lorient evolving as a scorer

He's an unselfish player, and the backstory, he didn’t play a ton on the Final Four team at Florida Atlantic. The next year, he played more and made a very big three against us, to beat us, when he was at Florida Atlantic and we were at North Texas. But you’re still talking, he was a seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth option on that team. Then he got to our team last year, and he’s still figuring out how to be a scorer and where his spots are going to be. He’s unselfish and makes the right plays. If he catches the ball and he’s not open, he won't force. When it's working, it’s on us as a coaching staff to get him more catch-and-shoot opportunities.

The team’s first half continuous defensive effort

You challenge them to keep executing and keep playing possession by possession, do your job during that moment regardless of time, whether you’re up 20 or down 20, they’re on a run or you’re on a run, just try to keep executing each play. It’s hard because human nature does kick in a little bit, but that's the challenge, and that’s what great teams do, and that’s what we would like to be.

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