Friday, November 15
Pittsburgh, Pa.
8 p.m.
West Virginia University
2-1,0-0Big 12
62
at
86
Pitt
4-0,0-0ACC
1
2
F
West Virginia
22
40
62
Pittsburgh
44
42
86
Photo by: Submitted photo
West Virginia Drops Backyard Brawl Tilt in Pittsburgh
November 15, 2024 10:24 PM | Men's Basketball
Damian Dunn's 23 points led a balanced Pitt attack in tonight's 86-62 victory over West Virginia at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Dunn, a Houston transfer, was one of four Panther players to reach double figures. Ishmael Leggett contributed 15, Cameron Cohren scored 13 and Guillermo Diaz Graham added 10 for the Panthers, now 4-0 for the season.
Pitt shot 48.3% overall, including 10 of 27 from 3-point range, and had a 20-to-8 edge at the free throw line. Pitt was 20 of 26 from the charity stripe compared to 8 of 15 for West Virginia, which drops to 2-1.
The Mountaineers struggled shooting the basketball, WVU connecting on just 24 of 62 overall for 38.7% and 6 of 29 from 3-point range for 20.7%.
"It wasn't the way we anticipated this game going," West Virginia coach Darian DeVries said afterward. "I thought we had a great week of practice. Our guys were really excited about coming here in a big rivalry game and I thought they were ready.
"Then, we got off to a poor start and we just never recovered," DeVries added.
Pitt, which dominated the glass 45 to 32, led 44-22 at halftime.
"We could just never get the water shut off and offensively we never found a rhythm at all tonight," DeVries said. "We've got to figure out a way to get some better opportunities, whether it is at the rim posting up to get to the free throw line or by getting more guys committed to the ball handler to get some kick and spray out opportunities."
The big discrepancy came from the two starting lineups where Pitt outscored West Virginia 70 to 36. Javon Small was the only Mountaineer starter to reach double figures with 12 points, although the senior made just 5 of his 14 field goal attempts.
A bright spot for West Virginia was the play of freshman Jonathan Powell coming off the bench with a team-high 16 points on 6 of 12 shooting. Powell made four of the Mountaineers' six 3s tonight.
Senior center Eduardo Andre contributed 9 points, making all four of his field goal tries, while freshman KJ Tenner added 7 in a reserve role.
Tucker DeVries and Amani Hansberry fouled out for West Virginia while Tenner had four fouls. The Mountaineers committed 22 fouls to Pitt's 14.
The Panthers' biggest lead was 31 points with 5:02 remaining.
"I'm incredibly disappointed," DeVries said. "There is no way to sugarcoat what happened tonight. It's three games in and we're not going to hang on to it forever, but we do need to learn from it and we've got to get some things figured out."
Tonight's game was the 191st Backyard Brawl, which West Virginia now leads 101-90. The Panthers have won two straight, including taking last year's game in Morgantown 80-63.
West Virginia returns to the WVU Coliseum next Wednesday night against Iona. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN+.
Dunn, a Houston transfer, was one of four Panther players to reach double figures. Ishmael Leggett contributed 15, Cameron Cohren scored 13 and Guillermo Diaz Graham added 10 for the Panthers, now 4-0 for the season.
Pitt shot 48.3% overall, including 10 of 27 from 3-point range, and had a 20-to-8 edge at the free throw line. Pitt was 20 of 26 from the charity stripe compared to 8 of 15 for West Virginia, which drops to 2-1.
The Mountaineers struggled shooting the basketball, WVU connecting on just 24 of 62 overall for 38.7% and 6 of 29 from 3-point range for 20.7%.
"It wasn't the way we anticipated this game going," West Virginia coach Darian DeVries said afterward. "I thought we had a great week of practice. Our guys were really excited about coming here in a big rivalry game and I thought they were ready.
"Then, we got off to a poor start and we just never recovered," DeVries added.
Pitt, which dominated the glass 45 to 32, led 44-22 at halftime.
"We could just never get the water shut off and offensively we never found a rhythm at all tonight," DeVries said. "We've got to figure out a way to get some better opportunities, whether it is at the rim posting up to get to the free throw line or by getting more guys committed to the ball handler to get some kick and spray out opportunities."
The big discrepancy came from the two starting lineups where Pitt outscored West Virginia 70 to 36. Javon Small was the only Mountaineer starter to reach double figures with 12 points, although the senior made just 5 of his 14 field goal attempts.
A bright spot for West Virginia was the play of freshman Jonathan Powell coming off the bench with a team-high 16 points on 6 of 12 shooting. Powell made four of the Mountaineers' six 3s tonight.
Senior center Eduardo Andre contributed 9 points, making all four of his field goal tries, while freshman KJ Tenner added 7 in a reserve role.
Tucker DeVries and Amani Hansberry fouled out for West Virginia while Tenner had four fouls. The Mountaineers committed 22 fouls to Pitt's 14.
The Panthers' biggest lead was 31 points with 5:02 remaining.
"I'm incredibly disappointed," DeVries said. "There is no way to sugarcoat what happened tonight. It's three games in and we're not going to hang on to it forever, but we do need to learn from it and we've got to get some things figured out."
Tonight's game was the 191st Backyard Brawl, which West Virginia now leads 101-90. The Panthers have won two straight, including taking last year's game in Morgantown 80-63.
West Virginia returns to the WVU Coliseum next Wednesday night against Iona. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN+.
Team Stats
WVU
UP
FG%
.387
.483
3FG%
.207
.370
FT%
.533
.769
RB
32
45
TO
8
11
STL
6
3
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
C
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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