Panthers are too much for Mountaineers
MORGANTOWN – The hometown Mountaineers had upset in their eyes, already defeating Florida and Tennessee and playing Big East-rival Georgetown to the wire before losing in overtime. Their upset bid never got under way Tuesday night, though, as third-ranked Pittsburgh had too much firepower and ran away with the game, 80-61.
“It was a great win for us, especially on the road,” Pittsburgh head coach Ben Howland said. “We have a veteran team who knows how to win on the road.”
Pittsburgh used all ends of the floor on offense, scoring inside early and from the outside later on as the Mountaineers seemed one step behind most of the night.
“We lost their shooters a few times and we paid for it as they (Pittsburgh) shot well from the outside tonight,” West Virginia head coach John Beilein said. “They also get the ball down low so well because their big men are strong and catch the ball well.”
Donatas Zavackas led Pitt’s offensive attack by scoring 16 points, including 4-4 from the three-point line. He leads the team from the three-point line, shooting almost 60 percent from beyond the arc.
“I thought I shot well tonight,” Zavackas said. “I had some opportunities and was able to make the shots when they were open.”
He was joined in double-figures by Ontario Lett, who scored 14, and Jaron Brown, who scored a season-high 14 points and also pulled in 5 steals.
“I was so happy with Jaron’s performance tonight because he was all over the floor,” Howland said. “Brandin Knight also played an excellent floor game and really steadied the team.”
The Mountaineers (9-5, 1-2) always prove to be a tough opponent for Backyard Brawl-rival Pitt (13-1, 3-0), and this game was no different early on. Both teams traded small leads throughout the first 12 minutes of the first half. The Panthers then exploded for a 10-0 run in the next three minutes, taking a 31-22 lead, until Kevin Pittsnogle laid in a bucket to pull West Virginia back to 31-24.
“I thought we fought well, but they guard so well, it was hard to make too much of a run,” Beilein said.
“Their defense is so strong and so good that we just were not able to capitalize and get any easy points.”
The Panthers closed out the half with 9-4 run fueled by their inside game to take a 12-point lead into the locker room, 40-28.
“We stayed unselfish and concentrated on playing good defense,” Howland said.
“We were able to outrebound them and contain them from getting on too much of a roll.”
West Virginia never mounted a threat after the break as the Pitt defense held a double-digit lead the entire second half, going up by as much as 21 points.
The Mountaineers were paced by Pittsburgh-native Drew Schifino, who led all scorers with 18 points.
“They (the Panthers) are strong, experienced, and play good defense,” Schifino said. “They are definitely are one of the top teams in the country.”
Center Kevin Pittsnogle also scored in double figures with 14 points for the Mountaineers. He was no match underneath the basket, however, as the Panthers out-muscled the Mountaineers and pulled down 31 rebounds to West Virginia’s 22.
“Pitt keys off their defense and make things happen on both ends of the floor,” Beilein said.
“They have a good team with a lot of good players who make the right decision most of the time.”