Pitt routs West Virginia, wins Brawl

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – Whether it’s taken place on a football field or a basketball court, recent… MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – Whether it’s taken place on a football field or a basketball court, recent Backyard Brawls haven’t been boring. Sunday’s showdown was no different. After a first half that looked like the game could go either way ‘mdash; the score was tied 10 times along with six lead changes ‘mdash; the No. 4 Panthers pulled away in the second, winning the game 79-67 at the Coliseum in Morgantown, W.Va. ‘We did a lot of great things,’ said Pitt coach Jamie Dixon. ‘And you have to if you are going to win at this place against that coach with those players. This is a very impressive win for us and a very good win in a lot of ways.’ Last season, West Virginia (14-5, 3-3) beat Pitt in Morgantown 76-62. Sam Young was the story of the game. After playing only 10 minutes in the first half because of foul trouble and being limited to six points, Young exploded for 16 second-half points to end with 22. He also added four rebounds. ‘Not everybody has a DeJuan Blair or a Sam Young,’ said Pitt point guard Levance Fields. ‘[West Virginia] has the tall players, but they don’t have the guys like Sam or DeJuan.’ Young dunked to start the game, bringing Pitt to an early lead. West Virginia’s Da’Sean Butler responded with a jumper right away and helped the Mountaineers to a 9-4 lead, but the teams exchanged baskets for much of the half. While Pitt responded to every shot the Mountaineers made at the beginning of the first half, it just couldn’t grab and hold onto the lead. With 10 minutes to go in the first half, Fields tied the game for the fifth time with a layup and was fouled by West Virginia’s Alex Ruoff in the process. The scoring went back and forth again for the majority of the half. Nasir Robinson, Blair and West Virginia’s Devin Ebanks each scored two in the final minutes of the half, leaving the score with Pitt up, 39-37 at the break. Young picked up his third foul just a few seconds into the second half, and Butler began the scoring with an early 3-pointer that gave the Mountaineers the lead back. But two Blair layups in the next minute of action gave Pitt the edge again 43-40. When Young came back off the bench a few minutes later, Pitt was ready to put the game away. Young’s 16 points helped the Panthers put together several runs. Pitt led by as much as 16 at three different times in the second half. Dixon went 3-of-5 from behind the arc and scored 11 points in 32 minutes of action. Guard Alex Ruoff, the only senior on West Virginia’s roster, scored 16 in the contest. Blair ended with his 13th double-double of the season, scoring 16 points and adding 11 rebounds. Pitt (18-1, 6-1) plays again on Wednesday when it travels to Villanova for a 7 p.m. matchup.