It was a one-sided Backyard Brawl in Pittsburgh Friday night with Damian Dunn’s 23 points leading the Pitt Panthers over the West Virginia Mountaineers 86-62.
Dunn along with Ishmael Leggett and Guillermo Diaz Graham took control for Pitt (4-0) offensively and defensively, with Leggett scoring 15 points and Diaz Graham adding 10 points and 10 rebounds. Overall, four starters for Pittsburgh scored at least 10 points, with only 16 points coming off the bench.
In the first 36 seconds, Diaz Graham was almost out for the game when Amani Hansberry elbowed him in the lip, resulting in a flagrant foul for Hansberry and two stitches for Diaz Graham. The Spanish forward returned and led the Panthers in a rout of the Mountaineers (2-1).
Pittsburgh excelled even with a smaller bench, rotating only two players in consistently until late in the game. The Panthers held their composure too, not needing much rotation. When Pitt got to the line, they shot 76.9 percent.
Pitt’s student section named the Oakland Zoo was loud, chirping at opponents and letting every WVU player know when they made a mistake, and there were mistakes for the Mountaineers with the Big 12 side missing their first eight shots from deep to start the game.
The Panthers outshot the Mountaineers 48.3 percent to 38.7 percent, with leading WVU scorer Tucker DeVries going 2-of-10 from the floor, scoring six points after averaging 17.5 points per game entering Friday. DeVries fouled out with 4:20 remaining in the second half.
Leading the West Virginia scoring instead was bench forward Jonathan Powell, who scored 16 points and added three rebounds. Powell was the only scorer for the Mountaineers to hit more than one 3-pointer and one of two to score double-digit points. Javon Small led the starters in scoring with 12 points and two assists.
With the win, Pittsburgh has its first consecutive wins in the Backyard Brawl rivalry since 2011 and 2012. Also, it’s the first time the Panthers won a brawl on their home court since Feb. 24, 2011.
–Field Level Media
