Box Score MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Sagaba Konate's 16 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks powered West Virginia to a 69-59 victory over Pitt in a turnover-plagued, foul-marred basketball game this afternoon at the WVU Coliseum.
 
There were combined 50 turnovers, 49 fouls and a near second-half Mountaineer meltdown leaving Bob Huggins with just as many questions as answers this afternoon.
 
Konate was certainly one answer for the veteran coach, the junior setting the WVU career block-shot record once established by D'or Fischer with his 192^ndcareer rejection on Trey McGowens' dunk attempt with 3:54 remaining in the game.
 
Konate continually turned back Pitt's straight-line drives at the rim, scored close to the basket and in transition on some thunderous dunks when his teammates were able to get him the ball, and he played like a preseason All-Big 12 player this afternoon.
 
Huggins said Friday afternoon that he wasn't sure if Konate was going to play today because he didn't practice on Thursday. But he was well enough to come off the bench and give the Mountaineers 27 effective minutes.
 
"That's the first time anybody has challenged him at the rim that much this year," Huggins said. "It's hard for him to block a shot when they come down and keep throwing it back out.
 
"He was active. He wanted the ball, he got big rebounds for us and obviously the two-handed block was (terrific)," Huggins said.
 
Junior guard Beetle Bolden scored a team-high 18 points - a lot of those coming off the ball when Jermaine Haley was in the game at point guard - while Esa Ahmad added 13 points to go with a season-high seven turnovers.
 
"I thought we looked more like us other than I don't think we generally throw it to them that much," Huggins said. "We played hard. We rebounded the ball. Our rotations were better and we got something out of our press. That looked more like what we're used to seeing."
 
West Virginia (6-3) used an 11-0 run during a five-minute stretch late in the first half to take control of the game. A Konate dunk and three Bolden free throws with 12.9 seconds left gave the Mountaineers a 39-27 halftime advantage.
 
WVU built its margin to 17 on Ahmad's layup with 15:10 remaining, and led by 14 points when Haley had to come out of the game with his fourth foul.
 
The 6-foot-7-inch Haley was the Mountaineers' most effective ball handler against Pitt's pressure because he is tall enough to pass the ball over top of defenders.
 
But as soon as he went to the bench, West Virginia's comfortable lead soon dwindled from 14 to eight in a matter of four minutes.
 
Two Ahmad free throws with 3:43 remaining seemed to put the Mountaineers back in control with a 15-point advantage, but then West Virginia treated the basketball like a hot potato when the game should have been well in hand.
 
On one occasion, with West Virginia leading by 12, Bolden hit an unexpecting Ahmad right in the face with a pass deep in the backcourt, leading to two Trey McGowens free throws. 
 
The next time down the floor, Ahmad lost control of the ball attempting to make a move in the lane leading to Au'diese Tony's runout basket.
 
Following a 30-second timeout by Huggins to get his guys reorganized, freshman guard Brandon Knapper was forced to take the team's final timeout with 1:19 remaining when he dribbled right into a sideline trap near midcourt.
 
"We played three point guards today and we can have a debate on which one was the loosest with the ball," Huggins said. "We've got to get that better."
 
WVU eventually got two free throws when Malik Ellison fouled Bolden after McGowens missed another layup. Bolden made both and those were the final two points of the game when Pitt called off its press after two missed 3-point tries by Jared Wilson-Frame.
 
"It's not hard stuff," Huggins said of WVU's 26 turnover afternoon. "It's just catch the ball and square up and see where everybody is instead of catching the ball, dribbling or jumping up in the air and trying to throw it and nobody is there."
 
Pitt wasn't much better with the ball, the Panthers at one time having twice as many turnovers as made field goal attempts. 
 
Panther freshman guard Xavier Johnson scored a game-high 21 points and McGowens added 18 while the other eight Pitt players who got into the game scored 20 points on a combined 7-of-24 shooting.
 
Overall, Pitt, now 7-3, shot 31.5 percent from the field and just 26.1 percent from 3-point distance. It was the second straight game the Mountaineers held their opponent to less than 40 percent shooting for the game.
 
West Virginia used its substantial size and talent advantage at the three forward positions to outscore the Panthers 17-5 on second-chance points and 30-22 in the paint.
 
With Konate coming off the bench, the Mountaineers had a 24-8 edge in bench points while also outrebounding Pitt 41-33 with 12 blocks.
 
"I don't think we threw it inside enough," Huggins said. "We threw it in the one time and Sags skips it out for a 3. He's a good passer to where if he doesn't force things and kick it out those are way, way better shots than something on the move."
 
WVU was slightly better than the Panthers shooting the ball, the Mountaineers converting 40 percent of their field goal attempts, but West Virginia really took advantage of its 24 free throw opportunities by hitting 20.
 
"We can't simulate their size, their athleticism and their length," Pitt coach Jeff Capel said. "We don't have those types of guys right now. There's going to be contact so we have to be able to play through contact. I thought, at times, we did that and I thought, at times, we didn't have the poise necessary, and that's where we have to get better and grow as a team."
 
Today's victory was West Virginia's second straight win over the Panthers and also snapped a two-game Coliseum losing streak to Pitt dating back to their Big East days in 2012. It was also the Mountaineers' sixth straight and nine out of their last 10 against ACC foes.
 
West Virginia returns to action next Sunday afternoon in the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase against Rhode Island in Uncasville, Connecticut. 
 
That game will tip off at 1 p.m. and will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.