The No. 22 ranked Pittsburgh Panthers went into WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, West Virginia, on Wednesday night to play the No. 6 ranked West Virginia Mountaineers in “The Backyard Brawl.” For only the fourth time in the bitter rivalry, both teams were ranked at game time.
Pittsburgh had won 12 out of the last 17 meetings, but West Virginia took down this one convincingly 70–51.
True to its name, the 179th meeting between the neighboring rivals served up a brawl with the Mountaineers leading 56–44 with 5:14 left in the game. West Virginia’s John Flowers came down with a rebound while receiving contact from Pittsburgh’s Gary McGhee.
Flowers elbowed McGhee in the chest and McGhee responded by shoving him. Official Bob Donato got into the middle and fell down in an attempt to pull McGhee away. Meanwhile, players from both sides got involved in the scrum.
Technicals were assessed to West Virginia’s Devin Ebanks and Pittsburgh’s Nasir Robinson. An additional technical foul was tacked on the Mountaineers because a fan threw something from the stands that hit Panthers associate head coach Tom Herrion in the face.
Earlier in the half, fans threw some trash onto the court because they were upset at a traveling call. Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins walked onto the court with a microphone and yelled at the students, calling it “stupid.”
While the referees warned the fans, Huggins declared that he wanted fans thrown out of the game for throwing things.
The emotional game was extremely significant in the Big East standings with the winner holding down third place. West Virginia took control of the game early, leading by as much as 11 in the first half.
The Panthers kept it close in the second half, trailing by two with 11:45 left. However, missed field goals and missed free throws allowed the Mountaineers to build a 12-point lead before the pushing and shoving ensued.
Pittsburgh shot a woeful 30.2 percent in the game, including 2–10 from 3-point range. Even though they got to the free-throw line five times more than the Mountaineers did, they only made 60.7 percent from the line.
West Virginia was fueled by Da’Sean Butler’s hot hand. Every time the Panthers surged, Butler was there to quiet the run with a clutch shot. Butler shot 3–6 from 3-point range, was a perfect 5–5 from the free-throw line, and finished with 18 points.
Although the Mountaineers held a 12-point lead when the scrum occurred, the Panthers still had enough time to get back into the game. However, the ruckus seemed to take the life out of the Panthers as they only scored six points the rest of the way.
West Virginia closed strong and won the game handily. The two teams play again on February 12 at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh in another crucial Big East matchup.
Pittsburgh had won 12 out of the last 17 meetings, but West Virginia took down this one convincingly 70–51.
True to its name, the 179th meeting between the neighboring rivals served up a brawl with the Mountaineers leading 56–44 with 5:14 left in the game. West Virginia’s John Flowers came down with a rebound while receiving contact from Pittsburgh’s Gary McGhee.
Flowers elbowed McGhee in the chest and McGhee responded by shoving him. Official Bob Donato got into the middle and fell down in an attempt to pull McGhee away. Meanwhile, players from both sides got involved in the scrum.
Technicals were assessed to West Virginia’s Devin Ebanks and Pittsburgh’s Nasir Robinson. An additional technical foul was tacked on the Mountaineers because a fan threw something from the stands that hit Panthers associate head coach Tom Herrion in the face.
Earlier in the half, fans threw some trash onto the court because they were upset at a traveling call. Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins walked onto the court with a microphone and yelled at the students, calling it “stupid.”
While the referees warned the fans, Huggins declared that he wanted fans thrown out of the game for throwing things.
The emotional game was extremely significant in the Big East standings with the winner holding down third place. West Virginia took control of the game early, leading by as much as 11 in the first half.
The Panthers kept it close in the second half, trailing by two with 11:45 left. However, missed field goals and missed free throws allowed the Mountaineers to build a 12-point lead before the pushing and shoving ensued.
Pittsburgh shot a woeful 30.2 percent in the game, including 2–10 from 3-point range. Even though they got to the free-throw line five times more than the Mountaineers did, they only made 60.7 percent from the line.
West Virginia was fueled by Da’Sean Butler’s hot hand. Every time the Panthers surged, Butler was there to quiet the run with a clutch shot. Butler shot 3–6 from 3-point range, was a perfect 5–5 from the free-throw line, and finished with 18 points.
Although the Mountaineers held a 12-point lead when the scrum occurred, the Panthers still had enough time to get back into the game. However, the ruckus seemed to take the life out of the Panthers as they only scored six points the rest of the way.
West Virginia closed strong and won the game handily. The two teams play again on February 12 at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh in another crucial Big East matchup.
