PITTSBURGH (AP) — Joe Toussaint scored 18 points, Erik Stevenson added 16 and West Virginia beat Pittsburgh 81-56 in the Backyard Brawl on Friday night.
West Virginia (2-0) won its sixth straight over Pittsburgh (1-1), the longest streak in the series between the schools 75 miles apart since the Mountaineers won nine consecutive times from 1964 to 1968, when the teams met twice a season.
Pittsburgh went nearly five minutes without a field goal, allowing the Mountaineers to extend a nine-point halftime lead. Stevenson made three baskets in about a two-minute stretch to put West Virginia ahead 56-40 with 14:55 left in the game.
Nelly Cummings, playing with four fouls, hit a pair of baskets 33 seconds apart to cut the deficit to 59-49 with 9:02 left, but Pittsburgh got no closer.
West Virginia finished the game on a 22-7 run with Toussaint scoring eight in that stretch.
The Mountaineers shot 53% (30 of 57) from the floor and forced 19 Pittsburgh turnovers.
Mohamed Wague added 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting and Emmitt Matthews scored 10 for West Virginia.
Jamarius Burton led Pittsburgh with 16 points and Greg Elliott added 12. Blake Hinson, who scored 27 points in Pittsburgh’s 80-58 win Monday over UT Martin, was held to five points.
Stevenson and Burton were teammates at Wichita State and transferred after the 2019-20 season. Stevenson went to Washington for one season, then to South Carolina for another. Burton headed to Texas Tech for one season.
BIG PICTURE
West Virginia: Coach Bob Huggins earned his 918th career win, moving within two of Jim Calhoun for third place all-time among Division I coaches, behind only Jim Boeheim of Syracuse and recently retired Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.
Pittsburgh: The Panthers were plagued by foul trouble for much of the game and were limited to 20 points after halftime.
UP NEXT
West Virginia: The Mountaineers host Morehead State on Tuesday night.
Pittsburgh: The Panthers face No. 22 Michigan in the Legends Classic next Wednesday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
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