Pitt
(5-5)
West Virginia
(9-1)
Pitt Second-Half Rally Falls Short Against No. 18 West Virginia
12/9/2017 11:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
PITTSBURGH -- Pitt battled back from an 18-point halftime deficit and trailed by just two points with 5:31 to play before running out of gas late and falling to No. 18 West Virginia, 69-60, Saturday evening at the Petersen Events Center. Senior Ryan Luther paced the Panther attack with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Marcus Carr and Shamiel Stevenson each added 12 points.
"We got our butts kicked in the first half and guys of lesser character would put their head between their legs and think the night was over, but there was none of that with our guys at any point," said Pitt head coach Kevin Stallings. "I couldn't ask for anymore out of them that they could of have gave. The difference was that they made shots and we didn't. They just jumped up and made shots, and made some difficult ones. I mean we played really good defense a few times."
The Mountaineers (9-1) forced just 14 turnovers, were outrebounded by six and sent the Panthers (5-5) to the free-throw line 31 times. Only Jevon Carter's occasional brilliance and some lockdown defense over the final 5 minutes prevented a staggering upset.
''They kicked our butt on the glass,'' West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. ''I wasn't surprised. I told our guys for two days that's what I was afraid was going to happen.''
Carter finished with a game-high 19 points but also ran into foul trouble in the second half, watching as the Panthers nearly erased all of an 18-point halftime deficit. Daxter Miles Jr. added 15 points and Lamont West finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds and the Mountaineers won their ninth straight following a season-opening loss to Texas A&M.
Pitt pulled within 61-59 when Marcus Carr completed a four-point play with 5:31 left. The Panthers, however, never got any closer. Pitt missed its last six shots and turned it over twice as West Virginia escaped.
''We knew that we could beat this team,'' said Carr, who finished with 12 points. ''It was a matter of putting it all together. We still didn't play our best (but) it's another step in the right direction.''
The Panthers dissected West Virginia's defense in the second half after shooting just 5-of-22 (23 percent) in the first half. Pitt opened the second half of play 8-of-14 (.571) from the field and shot above 50 percent for a majority of the half before missing their final six shots of the game.
The 185th meeting between the schools featured the programs in two very different places. The Mountaineers are a legitimate threat to challenge No. 2 Kansas in the Big 12, while the Panthers were picked to finish last in the ACC while undergoing a rebuilding process.
Still, old habits die hard. Pitt offered a promotion that included ''13-9'' decals to customers if they bought a Panthers cap, the score of Pitt's epic football upset of the Mountaineers a decade ago that kept West Virginia out of the Bowl Championship Series title game.
Then the game started and the punch Stallings told his team would come arrived, but it was West Virginia three-point shooting and not the signature pressure defense that set the Panthers back. Lamont West knocked down a pair of threes to open the game and Carter went on a personal 12-0 run to blow open and eight-point contest beginning at the 7:17 mark in the half. It seemed as if West Virginia was going to pull away after knocking down 8-of-16 three-point field goals in the opening half of play.
It didn't happen. Khameron Davis hit a three-pointer on Pitt's first possession of the second half and pumped his fist at the Panthers bench, starting a wave that crested with Carr's four-point play.
''We don't take too much consolation in a loss,'' Luther said. ''I thought we stuck together. We played extremely hard. If we keep snowballing, keep getting better in practice we'll be better when conference play starts.''
BIG PICTURE
West Virginia: The Mountaineers will have trouble in the Big 12 if the games are called tight. The offense needed either Carter or Miles on the court (and preferably both) to be functional. That will require them staying out of the kind of foul trouble they ran into in the second half.
Pitt: The Panthers are showing signs of progress and Pitt's effort and savvy in the second half provided concrete evidence the players are buying into what Stallings is selling.
UP NEXT
West Virginia: has a week off then hosts Wheeling Jesuit in an exhibition game on Dec. 16.
Pitt: welcomes McNeese State to the Petersen Events Center Dec. 16.
