PITTSBURGH — West Virginia’s offense scored all night long as the Mountaineers roared to an 81-56 victory over Pitt in the Backyard Brawl on Friday.
“It’s good to get this win and good to answer some questions,” Erik Stevenson said. “More so to prove to ourselves we can do something really special.”
Stevenson would hit a three-pointer on the first possession of the game, a sign of what was to come for the Mountaineers.
West Virginia would open an early six-point lead after Stevenson knocked down another triple. Pitt would storm back, going on a 7-0 run to lead by five as Greg Elliott scored all seven points for the Panthers.
“It was good to come out and get one to fall early,” Stevenson said. “Then it was good to get one to fall after that.”
West Virginia would turn to two of their bench players in Joe Toussaint and Mohamed Wague to guide them through a hectic first half.
Toussaint would hit a jumper to cut tie the game at 17-17 with 13:49 to play in the first half. Pitt would then make a layup to go ahead by two.
Wague and Toussaint would then combine for a 9-0 run between them would push the West Virginia lead to 26-19, but Pitt would come back with a 7-0 run of their own, tying the game at 26-26.
Down the final 7:09 of the first half, West Virginia out-scored Pitt by 11, using mostly a smaller lineup. West Virginia’s three big men — Jimmy Bell, Mohamed Wague, and James Okonkwo.
The Mountaineers used a small lineup over the final 5:10 of the first half. Kedrian Johnson was able to use his versatility to end the half. Johnson scored four points down the final four minutes of the half, including a steal and layup to end the half.
The Mountaineers shot 65.4% from the field in the first half, with Toussaint scoring 10 points in the half. The Mountaineers also forced 12 turnovers, leading to 11 points, to take a 47-36.
In the second half, West Virginia would score just seven points in the first five minutes, cooling off from their first half firestorm.
Pitt cut the Mountaineer lead to 10 with 9:03 to play, before the Mountaineers would take full control of the game down the stretch.
Seth Wilson hit a three-pointer with 6:41 to play, putting the Mountaineers ahead by 15. Toussaint would turn a fastbreak layup into a three-point play, before making a three-pointer on West Virginia’s next possession, putting the Mountaineers ahead 70-52.
The Mountaineers would cruise over the final 4:10, with Emmitt Matthews making a three-pointer, followed by a Toussaint steal, turned into two free throws.
West Virginia shot 52.6% from the field, including 38.1% from beyond the arc. Toussiant scored 18 points, with Stevenson pitching in 16, Wague 11, and Matthews with 10. The Mountaineers turned the ball over 11 times, with nine of those turnovers coming in the first half.
