NCAAB

Bob Huggins falls in minor health scare during West Virginia's win against Texas

AP

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia coach Bob Huggins dropped to his knees on the court during an apparent health scare while the 13th-ranked Mountaineers faced Texas on Monday night.

West Virginia coach Bob Huggins, middle, collapses after a timeout late in the first half against Texas at WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, W.Va.

Huggins went down during a timeout just before halftime, and his players quickly came to his aid. Huggins stood, briefly massaged his chest and stayed on the sideline.

It wasn't immediately known whether Huggins received medical attention at halftime, but he returned to coach in the second half of the Mountaineers' 77-62 victory.

ESPN's Holly Rowe said Huggins told her at halftime that he thought his defibrillator went off, and Huggins confirmed that was the case to reporters after the game. A West Virginia basketball spokesman had no immediate comment.

Texas coach Shaka Smart later exchanged well wishes with Huggins.

Huggins talked to Rowe again after the game but said, "I don't want to talk about me, I want to talk about my guys." When Rowe followed up by asking if he was OK, Huggins replied, "I'm fine."

The 63-year-old Huggins had a heart attack at the Pittsburgh airport in 2002 when he was the coach at Cincinnati. He was back in his office two weeks later.

“It comes out of nowhere,” Huggins said in a press conference after the game, via the AP. “Well, I guess I got a little lightheaded, which I do when I stand up too fast sometimes. A lot of that’s old age, and a lot of it is some of the medication I take.

“Then, I mean honestly, the defibrillator went off,” Huggins added. “But, that’s second time it’s been going off. It goes off and what it is, it just shocks your heart back into rhythm.”

Lamont West had a career-high 23 points to help WVU (22-6, 10-5 Big 12) shake off a slow start. Texas (10-18, 4-11) started the game on a 12-2 run but trailed 46-32 at halftime.