MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — As Pitt takes on West Virginia on Friday night, welcome to the Pittsburgh Sports Now live blog from inside the WVU Coliseum for up-to-date game news and notes throughout the night.
FINAL: 74-59 West Virginia Takes Down Pitt
Pitt turned the ball over 31 times and never found a groove offensively. John Hugley woke up in the second half, finishing with a team-high 17 points to go along with his six rebounds.
2H: 5:24: Pitt 46, WVU 65
Big man John Hugley has scored a few buckets in the second frame, bringing his total to eight points. While the Panthers have nothing going on offense and are still turning the ball over, the Mountaineers continue to build their lead and are looking to close this one out.
2H: Pitt 36, WVU 53
The crowd is all the way back into this one after an and-one finish for the Mountaineers plus a corner three. WVU has expanded its lead back up to 17. Oladapo had a nice move inside for Pitt, but nobody is really standing out on the score sheet so far. He leads the Panthers with eight.
2H: 14:37: Pitt 34, WVU 43
Pitt cuts the lead down to ten after a Nate Santos breakaway dunk and Will Jeffress free-throw.
2H: 15:29: Pitt 30, WVU 43
Pitt stops the WVU run, and goes on a 4-0 run itself. Although he has four turnovers, Nate Santos has been shown some flashes of toughness, and has four rebounds along with his three points. Had a nice assist to John Hugley on the break.
2H: 16:59: Pitt 26, WVU 43
Pitt cannot hold onto the ball and is struggling to even set up an offense. Hugley is back out there and hit a layup to open the half but more turnovers by Odukale and the Panthers have led to transition points for the Mountaineers.
Pitt has five turnovers in the last 3:03, and WVU is on a 7-0 run in the last 2:34. Things seem to be slipping away from Pitt after hanging around for the first half.
HALFTIME: Pitt 24, WVU 36
Positives: The Panthers are leading the rebound battle 17-11. Mo Gueye and Dan Oladapo are leading the Panthers with 6 points apiece. The Panthers have only attempted three three pointers, and have made two of them.
Negatives: Pitt has 18 turnovers, headlined by Odukale’s 4. Capel has played Ezeakudo and Odukale out there together for most of the half. When Ezeakudo has the ball in his hands, the offense seems to have more control, but still, really no sign of an offensive system/plays being ran. Hugley only played 6 minutes in the half after picking up two early fouls.
TEAM STATS:
Pitt: 10-20 FG. 17 rebounds, 18 turnovers
WVU: 15-29 FG. 11 rebounds, 7 turnovers
1H: 3:38: Pitt 19, WVU 34
Pitt has turned the ball over 17 times.
Both teams are shooting over 50% from the field, but the Panthers are playing very sloppy ball and can’t seem to settle down.
McNeil with 8, Bridges with 7 for the Mountaineers.
1H: Pitt 15, WVU 23
Stats update:
Odukale: 4 points, 2 turnovers, 1 rebound
Gueye: 4 points, 2 turnovers, 1 rebound
Oladapo: 2 points, 2 turnovers
Santos: 3 points, 1-2 3FG
Pitt youth is struggling to handle the pressure put on by the WVU defense as well as the crowd. Assistant Coach Milan Brown trying to calm down Will Jeffress after a foul. Odukale visibly rattled so far as well
1H: 9:57: Pitt 15, WVU 19
Nate Santos hit a three out of a timeout, followed by a Dan Oladapo transition layup. Pitt is still playing sloppy ball and not getting out to the wings to guard WVU beyond the arch. Jeffress also added a long two.
1H: 14:03: Pitt 8, WVU 12
John Hugley picked up two quick fouls that sent him to the bench. WVU is heating up from three, hit two straight.
Femi Odukale is getting booed every time he touches the ball. Odukale drove through for a layup and blew an emphatic kiss to the WVU student section.
1H- 15:54 – Pitt 6, WVU 4
Early notes:
- Mo Gueye early bright spot. Has four points
- Femi Odukale is repeatedly getting by his defender. Going to have to finish through contact, use the rim to his advantage on up-and-unders to convert
- Pitt has already forced WVU down to the last second of the shot clock twice. Defending pretty well
1H- 17:25, Pitt 4, WVU 2
Femi Odukale knocks down two free throws, Nate Santos is replaced by Onye Ezeakudo.
1H- 18:30
Mo Gueye opens the scoring on a baseline cut and two-hand dunk after a nice assist from John Hugley.
PREGAME:
Pitt takes the floor to a sea of boos from the sold-out West Virginia crowd.
Pitt is going with the same starting five of Femi Odukale, Nate Santos, William Jeffress, Mo Gueye, and John Hugley.
