Friday, November 21
Charleston, S.C.
6:30 p.m.
West Virginia University
5-1,0-0Big 12
67
vs
70
Clemson
5-1,0-0ACC
1
2
F
West Virginia
32
35
67
Clemson
25
45
70
Photo by: WVU Athletic Communications
Clemson Rallies to Edge West Virginia in Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic
November 21, 2025 09:14 PM | Men's Basketball
Clemson outscored West Virginia 24-11 over the game's final eight minutes to defeat the Mountaineers 70-67 in the opening round of the 2025 Shriners Children's Charleston Classic at TD Arena in Charleston, South Carolina.
The Mountaineers appeared to be in control of the game at the 10-minute mark after Jasper Floyd's two free throws gave them a 56-46 lead.
But the Tigers (5-1) got to the free throw line and used a pair of Carter Welling 3s, his second coming with 2:13 left, to cap an 11-2 run to give them their first lead of the second half, 64-63.
Welling added another basket a minute later to put Clemson ahead 66-63.
"He made two monster 3s," West Virginia coach Ross Hodge said afterward. "A lot of times it comes down to who jumps up and makes one with the game on the line, and they did and we didn't."
Chance Moore, playing his first game of the season, answered Welling's basket with a layup with 58 seconds left. Welling was fouled by Honor Huff at the other end and made one of two from the free throw line, but Floyd couldn't get a go-ahead 3 to go down at the other end.
Jake Wahlin grabbed the rebound, was fouled by Morris Ugusuk, and got the first of two to go down, giving Clemson a 68-65 lead.
Moore grabbed the rebound after Wahlin's second miss and the ball ended up in Brenen Lorient's hands underneath the basket where he dunked the ball with 1.5 seconds left.
Welling was fouled on the inbounds pass, and he made both free throws for the final points of the game.
West Virginia led 32-25 at half, three of those coming on Moore's halfcourt bank shot ahead of the buzzer. WVU limited Clemson to just 2 of 13 from behind the 3-point arc and just 37% overall in the first half.
"It was a tale of two halves," Hodge said. "Bottom line, we are not going to win many games when we give up 45 points in the second half, and a large part of that 45 was probably in the last eight minutes of the game."
Welling's 13 points all came in the second half, one point shy of Jestin Porter and RJ Godfrey, who tallied 14 each.
Dillon Hunter also contributed 13 and Butta Johnson came off the bench to score 11.
Clemson shot 46.2% overall, but connected on a sizzling 56% in the second half, including making six of its final eight field goal attempts.
"To their credit, they found something that worked, and we didn't adjust quick enough to it," Hodge said. "In the last eight minutes of the game, I felt like they were able to execute better than we did. They were able to get the ball where they wanted, when they wanted, and when they got it there, they finished.
"They made wide-open 3s and one-foot baskets, and we missed wide-open 3s and we missed one-foot baskets," Hodge added.
It was a very physical game and of the 32 fouls called, 22 of them came in the second half when Clemson took over the game.
WVU was whistled for 13 of them.
West Virginia, which lost its first game of the season, connected on 40.7% of its second half field goals and also left points at the free throw line, the Mountaineers missing seven of their 19 attempts.
Huff led WVU with 17 points on 5 of 6 shooting, including 3 of 4 from behind the 3-point arc. Moore came off the bench to chip in with 16 while Floyd finished with 14.
"When we got the 10-point lead we got a little stagnant offensively and didn't execute great," Hodge said. "Simply put, to me the difference was late in the game they were able to get the ball where they wanted it, when they wanted it and they made the shots. We were a little discombobulated and had to settle for some tough shots and just didn't execute at a high enough level to beat a good team on a neutral floor. It's disappointing."
The much larger Tigers had a 32-to-22 advantage in paint scoring and made four more at the line which proved to be difference.
West Virginia will play the loser of tonight's Xavier-Georgia matchup on Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m.
The Mountaineers appeared to be in control of the game at the 10-minute mark after Jasper Floyd's two free throws gave them a 56-46 lead.
But the Tigers (5-1) got to the free throw line and used a pair of Carter Welling 3s, his second coming with 2:13 left, to cap an 11-2 run to give them their first lead of the second half, 64-63.
Welling added another basket a minute later to put Clemson ahead 66-63.
"He made two monster 3s," West Virginia coach Ross Hodge said afterward. "A lot of times it comes down to who jumps up and makes one with the game on the line, and they did and we didn't."
Chance Moore, playing his first game of the season, answered Welling's basket with a layup with 58 seconds left. Welling was fouled by Honor Huff at the other end and made one of two from the free throw line, but Floyd couldn't get a go-ahead 3 to go down at the other end.
Jake Wahlin grabbed the rebound, was fouled by Morris Ugusuk, and got the first of two to go down, giving Clemson a 68-65 lead.
Moore grabbed the rebound after Wahlin's second miss and the ball ended up in Brenen Lorient's hands underneath the basket where he dunked the ball with 1.5 seconds left.
Welling was fouled on the inbounds pass, and he made both free throws for the final points of the game.
West Virginia led 32-25 at half, three of those coming on Moore's halfcourt bank shot ahead of the buzzer. WVU limited Clemson to just 2 of 13 from behind the 3-point arc and just 37% overall in the first half.
"It was a tale of two halves," Hodge said. "Bottom line, we are not going to win many games when we give up 45 points in the second half, and a large part of that 45 was probably in the last eight minutes of the game."
Welling's 13 points all came in the second half, one point shy of Jestin Porter and RJ Godfrey, who tallied 14 each.
Dillon Hunter also contributed 13 and Butta Johnson came off the bench to score 11.
Clemson shot 46.2% overall, but connected on a sizzling 56% in the second half, including making six of its final eight field goal attempts.
"To their credit, they found something that worked, and we didn't adjust quick enough to it," Hodge said. "In the last eight minutes of the game, I felt like they were able to execute better than we did. They were able to get the ball where they wanted, when they wanted, and when they got it there, they finished.
"They made wide-open 3s and one-foot baskets, and we missed wide-open 3s and we missed one-foot baskets," Hodge added.
It was a very physical game and of the 32 fouls called, 22 of them came in the second half when Clemson took over the game.
WVU was whistled for 13 of them.
West Virginia, which lost its first game of the season, connected on 40.7% of its second half field goals and also left points at the free throw line, the Mountaineers missing seven of their 19 attempts.
Huff led WVU with 17 points on 5 of 6 shooting, including 3 of 4 from behind the 3-point arc. Moore came off the bench to chip in with 16 while Floyd finished with 14.
"When we got the 10-point lead we got a little stagnant offensively and didn't execute great," Hodge said. "Simply put, to me the difference was late in the game they were able to get the ball where they wanted it, when they wanted it and they made the shots. We were a little discombobulated and had to settle for some tough shots and just didn't execute at a high enough level to beat a good team on a neutral floor. It's disappointing."
The much larger Tigers had a 32-to-22 advantage in paint scoring and made four more at the line which proved to be difference.
West Virginia will play the loser of tonight's Xavier-Georgia matchup on Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m.
Team Stats
WVU
CU
FG%
.404
.462
3FG%
.391
.318
FT%
.632
.789
RB
33
36
TO
8
12
STL
8
5
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
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