MORGANTOWN, W.V. - In losing to Niagara last Monday night, Pitt was sloppy and unfocused.

On Saturday, the Panthers had more energy at the Coliseum in Morgantown, but the sloppiness didn’t improve and they committed 24 turnovers in a 69-59 loss to West Virginia.

Freshman Xavier Johnson scored a game-high 21 points for his 10th double-digit performance in as many games. Fellow freshman Trey McGowens set a new career high with 18 points.

In the first half, Pitt was even sloppier than it had been in Monday’s loss to Niagara. The Panthers turned it over 14 times before halftime - just four fewer turnovers than they had in the entire game against Niagara.

But turnovers weren’t the only problem; Pitt was also called for 14 fouls in the first half, with Johnson, Malik Ellison, Terrell Brown, Au’Diese Toney and Kene Chukwuka going to the locker room with two fouls apiece.

The foul calls continued in a curious fashion throughout the game, but the turnovers were a problem that was entirely of Pitt’s creation - and a problem that proved to be the team’s undoing. The Panthers led WVU 14-11 at the midpoint of the first half but saw that lead turn into a 13-point deficit over the next 8:32.

During that stretch, Pitt missed five field goal attempts but, more relevantly, committed seven turnovers as the Mountaineers pulled away to a 34-21 lead.

West Virginia went into halftime leading 39-27 and stretched it to 17, but while Pitt continued to deal with turnovers and foul trouble, the Panthers also managed to turn up their intensity on defense. With that increase came success on the offensive end, and with 7:18 to go in the game, a McGowens steal turned into an Ellison fast-break layup that cut the Mountaineers’ lead to 56-48 - the first time Pitt had it under 10 since the final minute of the first half.

But the defense couldn’t hold and the offense couldn’t continue producing. The Panthers missed their next six shots - including all four three-point attempts - and turned it over twice in a 4:02 span, allowing WVU to pull away once again.

Pitt made one more push in the final four minutes, though. After the Mountaineers extended their lead to 15, the Panthers answered with an 11-4 run that cut the deficit to single digits. But Pitt couldn’t grab the offensive rebound on three of its next four shots - all misses - and WVU held on for the 10-point win.

For the second consecutive game, Pitt was outrebounded, as West Virginia held a 41-33 advantage on the glass. The Mountaineers also pulled in 16 offensive boards; by contrast, Pitt had 19 defensive rebounds.

With the loss, Pitt falls to 7-3 on the season. The Panthers have a week off before hosting Maryland-Eastern Shore next Saturday in the first of their final three nonconference games.