PITTSBURGH, Pa. There are games and then there are GAMES. The 4th ranked
West Virginia Mountaineers and the 25th ranked
Pitt Panthers made the 180th edition of the Backyard Brawl one of these GAMES. Pitt was able to capitalize on missed free throws near the end of regulation to take the game to overtime, eventually beating the Mountaineers 98-95 in triple overtime.
"They just out toughed us. They didn't quit. They kept coming back and kept fighting. In those situations you need some help. We gave them a lot of help," said Head Coach Bob Huggins.
"I really wanted to close this game out. I wanted to beat them twice during the regular season because it's been done to us. We were supposed to win this game, but we let them stay in the game and give them hope and they make shots," Senior
Da'Sean Butler commented. "They made big plays at crucial points in the game. If they miss it and we get the ball, then everything is fine, but if they make it it's like momentum for them. It's like a snowball rolling down a hill."
It was only the fifth time that both teams played each other while ranked in the top 25 and the way the game began, the team should have known it was going to be a wild night. It wasn't exactly the start that was expected, with WVU and Pitt pouring on the points right out of the gate. The Panthers hit two 3-pointers and were able to get points in the paint early on, but the Mountaineers got out to a decent start shooting the ball and were able to stay with their Backyard Brawl foe.
Da'Sean Butler started to heat up under the glass, then buried home a 3-pointer to put WVU up 17-15 heading into the first media time out.
Pitt would turn the ball over a few times, but the Mountaineers couldn't seem to capitalize.
John Flowers would hit a 3-pointer to get to WVU offense going, then
Kevin Jones would hit a lay up, followed by another tough drive to the basket by Flowers.
Truck Bryant would nail a 3-pointer to put WVU up 35-25 with three and a half minutes left in the half. Pitt would close out with a 7-2 run, but the Mountaineers still had the 37-32 lead heading into the locker room.
The Mountaineers started the second half out with another shooting spree, with
Wellington Smith and
Truck Bryant burying jump shots to push the Mountaineer lead back to nine.
Devin Ebanks showed his presence on the low block, putting up some strong up and under moves and getting to the free throw line. WVU kept the lead for most of the half, but with about five minutes left to go, the Mountaineers started to look tired. The Mountaineers had a seven point lead with just under a minute left, then the bottom fell out. Bryant and Butler would miss the front end of three one-and-ones and Pitt would score on each of its possessions to cut the lead to three.
Truck Bryant turned the ball over on an inbounds play and Gibbs hits a 3-pointer to tie the game at 68 with 26 seconds left. WVU couldn't run a good offensive set and the game headed to overtime.
"I blame myself, honestly. We have the ball at the end of regulation. I have the ball and I lost the ball. They hit a three, now it goes to overtime,"
Truck Bryant said of his performance at the end of regulation. "The only thing I had to do was secure the ball and we win the game. I felt like I got fouled, but it's at the end of the game and they're at home, so it's something they're not going to call."
"We were all trying our best to win this game, but we definitely should have won in regulation. That was our fault all the way. We just let a perfect opportunity go to waste," said sophomore
Kevin Jones.
Pitt nailed a 3-pointer to start overtime and was able to hit their free throws to go up 73-70.
Da'Sean Butler would hit his free throws to tie the game up at 75, but Pitt would score on a huge dunk and make a free throw to go up by three.
Truck Bryant would redeem his turnover to end regulation with a huge 3-pointer to tie the game at 78 with just one second left to force a second overtime.
The Panthers started their 2nd overtime with another 3-pointer from Ashton Gibbs. Bryant ran down the court and immediately tied the game up at 81 with a deep shot of his own. Both teams would go back and forth until Brad Wanamaker hit an and one to put Pitt up 86-83.
Da'Sean Butler would be fouled on a 3-point attempt and hit all of his free throws to tie it up at 88. Pitt would miss a late jump shot to take the game into a third and final overtime.
The third overtime started out in West Virginia's favor. Pitt turned the ball over on their opening possession and
Da'Sean Butler hit a turn around jumper to take the 90-88 lead. This would be the first lead the Mountaineers took in all three overtimes. Pitt would take the 91-90 lead until Butler would tie the game and cause Pitt's leading scorer, Brad Wanamaker, to foul out. Nasir Robinson would tip in a Pitt miss to take a two point lead. Butler would again tie the game after forcing Pitt's Travon Woodall to foul out as well. WVU would take the 95-94 lead off another Butler jumper with 42 seconds left to go in the game. It would be the last time the Mountaineers scored.
Gilbert Brown would be fouled and hit both of his free throws to take a one point lead. The Panthers would double team Butler, forcing
Devin Ebanks to take a turn around jumper that didn't fall home. Ashton Gibbs would hit both of his free throws to seal the Panther victory, 98-95.
"Our first option was definitely Da'Sean. He was hitting a lot of big shots for us, but whenever he got double teamed, we just tried to get in the right spots to the open shots. It was working for us and there were some shots that we needed to make that we didn't," said Jones of his team's inability to make the final shot.
Although
Da'Sean Butler had a rough night, shooting only 9-of-22 from the floor, he was the game's high scorer with 32 points and chipped in a double double with 11 rebounds.
Devin Ebanks added a double double of his own with 17 points and 10 rebounds. The Mountaineers out-rebounded Pitt 49-37 and shot 42 percent from the floor. Jones says in the end, it came down to Pitt wanting it more.
"I guess we got a little relaxed. They wanted it more than us. They came out and hit the shots they needed to make and made the free throws they needed to make," said Jones.
"For us to have this talent that we're supposed to have and we're supposed to win the game and we're supposed to beat the team by this many points or that many points, with all these good players, we still didn't execute and finish. It's just frustrating right now," Butler said.
With the loss the Mountaineers fall to 19-5 and 8-4 in the BIG EAST, putting them in a 3-way tie with Pitt and Georgetown.
"Now we're tied with three teams. We can't do anything about it now, we just have to practice and play," Butler said.
"Now it's a fight again, just like last year. It's a fight that we're going to win because we're going to re-focus and get back together. No doubt about it," said
Truck Bryant.
The Mountaineers are on a two game losing streak and head to Providence on Wednesday to take on the Friars. How can the team rebound from these losses?
"You go back to work. We go back and start working on getting ready for Providence," said Coach Huggins.
The Mountaineers will have their work cut out for them if they want to make a run at the BIG EAST regular season title.
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