Pitt pummels West Virginia 80-63
MORGANTOWN, W.Va — Pitt needed to find a way to bounce back after losing two consecutive games and all it took was a leisurely ride down I-79. The Panthers conquered West Virginia 80-63 in the 190th playing of the Backyard Brawl at the WVU Coliseum on Wednesday night to improve to 6-3 on the season.
The win snapped a two-game losing streak for this year, but in terms of the Brawl it got Pitt back on the right side of the win column for the first time in a while. The win on Wednesday marked Pitt’s first win over West Virginia since 2012, back when both schools were members of the Big East Conference. The Mountaineers had previously won all six meetings between the two programs in the recent non-conference series.
Pitt came out victorious with a method it favors most: shooting three-pointers. The Panthers connected on 42% from deep range, and made 16 from the behind the arc. It was no secret who the catalyst behind that effort was either.
Blake Hinson posted a career-high 29 points. He made nine three-pointers, which is the best total in Pitt single game history. Hinson also grabbed seven rebounds. It was the third straight game the senior forward has scored over 20, and the fifth time it has happened this season.
Pitt built and held a double-digit lead in the final ten minutes, but the Panthers had to work to get there. It looked like Pitt was pulling ahead late in the first half, but a late run by West Virginia closed the gap. Pitt held a 33-26 lead with 2:34 left after a Jaland Lowe layup, but the Mountaineers closed it to 36-35 at the break.
Like some of Pitt’s recent losses to Missouri and Clemson, the Mountaineers tried to force the action inside the paint. West Virginia scored 36 of its 63 right next to the basket and an additional 16 came from the free-throw line, but it shot a paltry 15% from three-point range.
The game featured two technicals, not atypical for the Brawl, with one going to Pitt’s Ishamel Leggett after the first basket of the game, then a later one to West Virginia, which sort set the big run for Pitt in motion.
The Panthers used a 9-0 run to stretch the lead to 69-52 with 7:35 left, which forced West Virginia interim coach Josh Eilert to call a timeout. During that run, Guillermo Diaz Graham flushed a dunk home on a dump pass from his brother, Jorge. The few Pitt fans in attendance, or a bus full of some Oakland Zoo members, got pretty loud at that point as the Coliseum crowd started to thin out from the home faithful.
In addition to the career performance from Hinson, Pitt had three others reach double figures. Bub Carrington scored 16 points, Guillermo Diaz Graham added 15 off the bench, while Leggett provided 10 points in limited action with foul trouble.
West Virginia forward Quin Slazinski finished with a team-high 22 points, but only made one field goal after halftime as Pitt upped the defensive pressure on him. Pitt held a 25-3 advantage in bench points and out-rebounded the Mountaineers narrowly, 33-32. Will Jeffress came off the bench and grabbed a team-high nine boards for Pitt.
The Panthers will be off for a few days and will return to action on Saturday when they host Canisius at the Petersen Events Center for a 6:00 p.m. tip.