Feb 28, 2007 By Stephen Flinn For The 3 min read

PITTSBURGH-Twelfth-ranked Pitt and West Virginia battled back and forth through most of Chapter 173 of the basketball “Backyard Brawl” Tuesday night.” The Mountaineers scored 14 first-half points off seven Pitt turnovers and raced to a 32-29 lead at halftime, before the Panthers (25-5, 12-3) roared out of the locker room after the break and re-took the lead with a 9-0 run.

When Jamie Smalligan hit his third 3-pointer, the Mountaineers (20-8, 8-7) were behind only 54-51 with 8 minutes left.

They would get no closer as Mike Cook scored 8 points in five minutes to fuel a Panther breakout, as Pitt went on to win, 80-66.

“We were more aggressive and got more open shots in the second and I was able to knock them down,” Cook said. “Aaron huddled us up at halftime and we responded by being more aggressive on offense and defense in the second half.”

It was the last game at the Petersen Events Center this season and the farewell performance for seniors Aaron Gray, Levon Kendall, Antonio Graves and Doyle Hudson.

“It was a great senior night,” Gray said. “I definitely reflected after the game because it (4 years at Pitt) was such a long road and I don’t regret my decision at all in returning for my senior year.”

Gray scored 12 points and pulled down 13 rebounds, and Kendall tallied 12 points and pulled down 9 rebounds.

“That wasn’t us in the first half and we wanted to get back to playing our basketball in the second half,” Gray said. “The most disappointing thing in the first half was that we weren’t having fun. I usually lead by my actions rather than talking, but I almost lost my voice after huddling everyone up at halftime and talking to them.”

Head coach Jamie Dixon feels the Panthers are where they need to be this time of the year. They are tied for first in the conference with Georgetown after the Hoyas lost at Syracuse Monday night.

“It was great to see our seniors play well because that’s what senior night is supposed to be,” Dixon said. “To get a great win against a team just down the road and have our seniors play well was big for us.”

West Virginia coach John Beilein felt his team was too young and not physical enough to overcome a Pitt team, while shooting only 40 percent.

“We had such a strength disadvantage, we needed to shoot very well to win this game,” Beilein said. “We’ve had better shots tonight than we’ve ever had in this building because Pitt plays so well here, but we just didn’t shoot well enough to win.”

Pitt finishes the season at Marquette Saturday night but is already guaranteed a first-round bye in the Big East Tournament are now also playing for a higher seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The same cannot be said for the Mountaineers, who are scrapping for an NCAA tournament bid. West Virginia could have benefited with a win but now must hope to win in the season finale, which is at home against Cincinnati Saturday afternoon and make a run in the Big East Tournament to secure a bid.

“I’ve tried to stay away from talking about the NCAA tournament and not looking too far ahead but it’s on everybody’s mind,” Beilein said. “”This would have been a significant win, but our season still isn’t over. This time of the year some guys are trying to win to save their jobs. I hope I’m not one of them.”