Three Tallies after Three Times

Pittsburgh pulled off a miraculous comeback in triple overtime Friday night at Petersen Events Center. The 25th ranked Panther upset the nation’s number five, West Virginia, in the second installment of this season’s backyard brawl. The Big East game was completed in three overtimes. Pittsburgh erased a seven point deficit in the final 45 seconds of regulation to send the game into the first extra session, and eventually outlasted the Mountaineers 98-95. The low scoring contest ended with Gilbert Brown snagging two free throws. The Panthers’ junior hit the winning buckets with 28 seconds left in overtime number three to hand West Virginia their fifth loss of the year. Pittsburgh improved to 19-6 overall and 8-4 in the Big East. The triumph ties the Panthers with West Virginia and Georgetown for third place in the conference.
Da’Sean Butler lead all players with 32 for the Mountaineers. Butler added 11 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. Darryl Bryant sunk a satisfying 20 points for the visitors and sophomore, Devin Ebanks had 17 points and 10 rebounds in the loss. The Panthers were paced by their two gritty guards, Brad Wanamaker and Ashton Gibbs. Both finished with 24 points. The Panthers improved to 6-0 at home against top five opponents, but it was a back-and-forth battle all night. The game was tied 12 times and had 12 lead changes. The Mountaineers took a 37-32 advantage over their rivals into halftime. Pitt surged back to tie the game before the regulation buzzer. Gibbs drilled the game-tying 3-pointer from the corner on an inbounds pass from Wanamaker with 22 seconds left in the fourth. Gibbs was 6-of-13 from the arc Friday night. West Virginia was error-prone in the second half. They held a seven point lead after dominating the Panthers for 39 minutes, but let it slip through their fingers. Pittsburgh responded to WVU’s missed opportunities and turnovers at the end of regulation. The Mountaineers allowed Tavon Woodall (12 points, 7 rebounds) an open look down the lane before he drove it home to pull Pitt within three points. They failed to make easy layups. Bob Huggins’ squad fumbled the basketball and couldn’t make their shots even when they virtually had the Backyard Brawl won.
The Panthers looked like they had the game won in the first overtime. Gibbs muffed a second foul shot with seven ticks and Bryant drilled one from downtown to keep the Mountaineers in the game. Jamie Dixon’s Panthers led by three points with 20 seconds left in overtime number two when Butler was fouled. The 6’7” WVU senior pocketed three free throws to force the third extra session. In the final overtime, Butler cruised past the Panthers to put West Virginia ahead by one point with 40 seconds left. Brown dropped two foul shots in the basket to recapture the Panther edge, 96-95. Ebanks, 7-of-14 from the field, missed a shot on the next Mountaineer possession. Gary McGhee grabbed the last of his 12 rebounds and swung the ball out to Gibbs, who was fouled. Gibbs made a pair of charity stripe points with 11.8 seconds remaining for the game’s concluding three point margin. The Panthers took out the Mountaineers in triple overtime by posting clutch free throws and smartly using the clock to their advantage. It was a fitting and fantastic finale.

Parting Points: It’s nice to see Wayne Gretzky involved in the opening ceremonies.

Song for Saturday- Eleanor Farjeon’s “Morning Has Broken”