WVU 66, Pitt 48
February 17, 2012 12:11 AM | General
Kevin Jones scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and Truck Bryant came off the bench to score 15 to lead West Virginia to a 66-48 victory over Pitt Thursday night at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh.
“We got ourselves in a corner and we’ve got to fight our way out,” said West Virginia coach Bob Huggins. “Tonight I thought we did. We played pretty well.”
West Virginia (17-10, 7-7) held Pitt to just three field goals over the remaining 10 minutes of the game to record only its second win over in this facility. WVU’s other victory here came in 2005.
Tonight, the Mountaineers were able to lock down on Pitt guards Tray Woodall and Ashton Gibbs, who combined to score 39 points on 12 of 20 shooting the first time these two teams met in Morgantown on Jan. 30. This time around, Woodall was just 5 of 16 shooting for 12 points and Gibbs finished the game 2 of 11 for 8 points.
“I thought we got to them pretty good,” said Huggins. “We had some miscommunication early in the game and we let (Lamar) Patterson get some easy looks and then I thought our communication was better.”
The game remained close until early in the second half when freshman Jabarie Hinds hit a 3 from the top of the key and then added a driving layup to give the Mountaineers a 38-31 advantage. After J.J. Moore scored off an inbound play, Deniz Kilicli, who added 14, hit a left-handed hook shot from about 14 feet out along the baseline to make it 40-33, Mountaineers.
“I felt the hook that Deniz made when he was really further than we needed him to be - I thought that was huge,” said Huggins. “That kind of got us some space.”
After Woodall reduced West Virginia’s lead to four, 40-36, with a traditional three-point play, the Mountaineers went on an 8-0 run over a five-minute span from 11:19 to 5:43 to take control of the game.
A pair of Kevin Jones free throws got the lead to 15 with 4:19 remaining and West Virginia’s margin was never below 12 the rest of the way.
The Mountaineers made 14 straight free throws in the second half and finished the game 18 of 19 from the line. West Virginia had a 33-26 edge on the glass, forced 17 Pitt turnovers – several leading to run-out baskets – and held the Panthers to just 37 percent shooting for the game.
“Our shot selection was better,” said Huggins. “We passed the ball better in the second half than we did in the first half.”
Pitt’s narrow NCAA tournament hopes took a big hit with tonight’s loss. The Panthers are now 15-12, 4-10 and are assured of a losing regular season record in conference play. Pitt came into tonight’s game with an RPI of 76, while West Virginia’s was a much more respectable 41.
“We needed it, but we need some more (wins),” said Huggins. “We’re taking days off because we play guys such heavy minutes, but this isn’t a celebration – we had to do this. We haven’t fought our way out yet.
West Virginia’s victory tonight could be the last time these two long-time rivals play for a while. Last fall Pitt announced that it was leaving the Big East to join the ACC, and a month later, West Virginia announced it was making the switch to the Big 12 starting next season.
West Virginia fans, making the short trip up to Pittsburgh, could be heard chanting “Let’s Go Mountaineers” near the end of the game.
The Mountaineers have now won for the third time on the road this year in Big East play and will have another difficult road assignment coming up next Wednesday night at Notre Dame. That game will tip at 7 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
“We got ourselves in a corner and we’ve got to fight our way out,” said West Virginia coach Bob Huggins. “Tonight I thought we did. We played pretty well.”
West Virginia (17-10, 7-7) held Pitt to just three field goals over the remaining 10 minutes of the game to record only its second win over in this facility. WVU’s other victory here came in 2005.
Tonight, the Mountaineers were able to lock down on Pitt guards Tray Woodall and Ashton Gibbs, who combined to score 39 points on 12 of 20 shooting the first time these two teams met in Morgantown on Jan. 30. This time around, Woodall was just 5 of 16 shooting for 12 points and Gibbs finished the game 2 of 11 for 8 points.
“I thought we got to them pretty good,” said Huggins. “We had some miscommunication early in the game and we let (Lamar) Patterson get some easy looks and then I thought our communication was better.”
The game remained close until early in the second half when freshman Jabarie Hinds hit a 3 from the top of the key and then added a driving layup to give the Mountaineers a 38-31 advantage. After J.J. Moore scored off an inbound play, Deniz Kilicli, who added 14, hit a left-handed hook shot from about 14 feet out along the baseline to make it 40-33, Mountaineers.
“I felt the hook that Deniz made when he was really further than we needed him to be - I thought that was huge,” said Huggins. “That kind of got us some space.”
After Woodall reduced West Virginia’s lead to four, 40-36, with a traditional three-point play, the Mountaineers went on an 8-0 run over a five-minute span from 11:19 to 5:43 to take control of the game.
A pair of Kevin Jones free throws got the lead to 15 with 4:19 remaining and West Virginia’s margin was never below 12 the rest of the way.
The Mountaineers made 14 straight free throws in the second half and finished the game 18 of 19 from the line. West Virginia had a 33-26 edge on the glass, forced 17 Pitt turnovers – several leading to run-out baskets – and held the Panthers to just 37 percent shooting for the game.
“Our shot selection was better,” said Huggins. “We passed the ball better in the second half than we did in the first half.”
Pitt’s narrow NCAA tournament hopes took a big hit with tonight’s loss. The Panthers are now 15-12, 4-10 and are assured of a losing regular season record in conference play. Pitt came into tonight’s game with an RPI of 76, while West Virginia’s was a much more respectable 41.
“We needed it, but we need some more (wins),” said Huggins. “We’re taking days off because we play guys such heavy minutes, but this isn’t a celebration – we had to do this. We haven’t fought our way out yet.
West Virginia’s victory tonight could be the last time these two long-time rivals play for a while. Last fall Pitt announced that it was leaving the Big East to join the ACC, and a month later, West Virginia announced it was making the switch to the Big 12 starting next season.
West Virginia fans, making the short trip up to Pittsburgh, could be heard chanting “Let’s Go Mountaineers” near the end of the game.
The Mountaineers have now won for the third time on the road this year in Big East play and will have another difficult road assignment coming up next Wednesday night at Notre Dame. That game will tip at 7 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
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