Pitt Suffers Blowout Road Defeat to West Virginia

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Pitt Panthers played well early on, but a terrible offensive stretch doomed them in a 71-49 defeat to rival West Virginia at Hope Coliseum.

This marks the first defeat for Pitt on the season, as they won their first three games at home vs. Youngstown State in the season opener on Nov. 3, 74-59, Longwood on Nov. 7, 78-60, and Eastern Michigan on Nov. 10.

West Virginia improves to 4-0 on the season, with three wins at home over Mount St. Mary's in the season opener on Nov. 4, 70-54, Campbell on Nov. 6, 73-65, and Lehigh on Nov. 9, 69-47.

Pitt Gains Lead in First Half

West Virginia took a 5-0 lead in the first minute, with seniors in center Harlan Obioha making a layup and guard Jasper Floyd converting an and-one opportunity off of a jumper.

Pitt responded, as sophomore guard Brandin "Beebah" Cummings hit a floater, freshman guard Omari Witherspoon made a turnaround jumper and senior forward Cam Corhen made a layup, taking a 6-5 lead.

The Mountaineers retook their lead, as freshman forward DJ Thomas made a layup and then a 3-pointer, putting the home team up 10-6.

The Panthers again had a response, going on an 8-0 run, with Cummings making a 3-pointer, then Witherspoon making a layup on the fastbreak and a step-back 3-pointer for a 14-10 advantage, forcing a Mountaineers timeout with 11:24 remaining.

Pitt kept their lead out of the timeout, going up as big as 21-14, with Witherspoon and senior guard Damarco "Polo" Minor making mid-range jumpers and Corhen adding a dunk.

West Virginia Dominates and Leads at Halftime

WVU kept battling Pitt and used an 11-2 run, as they regained the lead a 25-23 at the final media timeout. Thomas led the way with a 3-pointer and a layup, senior guard Honor Huff made a 3-pointer and a free throw and Obioha added a layup.

The Mountaineers continued forcing the Panthers into bad shots and scored nine of the final 11 points before halftime, taking a 34-25 lead. Floyd made a layup and a 3-pointer, while Obioha made a dunk and two more free throws.

Pitt shot 1-for-10 the final eight minutes of the first half after leading 21-14, shooting 10-for-26 from the field, 38.5%, 2-for-11 from 3-point range, 18.2% at halftime.

Mountaineers Increase Advantage in Second Half

West Virginia continued their great play, as they started the second half on a 12-0 run, increasing their lead to 21 points, 46-25 with 16:32 remaining.

Obioha added five points on a layup, senior forward Brenen Lorient made a layup, Floyd added a jumper, while senior guard Treysen Eaglestaff made a 3-pointer to cap-off the run.

This made it a 32-4 run for the Mountaineers, after trailing 21-14 with 8:01 left in the first half.

Pitt Attempts Comeback

The Panthers didn't quit, as they embarked on a 15-4 run, cutting the deficit to just 10 points at 50-40 with 11:03 remaining.

Sophomore guard Nojus Indrusaitis and Corhen led with five points, each making a 3-pointer and a layup, freshman forward Roman Siulepa made a 3-pointer and Witherspoon added a layup.

Pitt Panthers head coach Jeff Capel — Nov 13, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Jeff Capel III talks to his team during aa timeout during the first half against the West Virginia Mountaineers at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

Mountaineers Finish Panthers Off

West Virginia took over the game following that run, scoring 13 unanswered points themselves and restoring their large lead, 63-40 at the 5:29 mark.

Huff led the way with nine straight points, featuring a 3-pointer and six free throws, with four coming on two technical fouls from Indrusaitis and then Pitt head coach Jeff Capel.

The Panthers outscored the Mountaineers the rest of the way, but shot 4-for-15 from the field after cutting the deficit to just 10 points, falling in a 22-point defeat.

History Backyard Brawl

The loss for Pitt ends a two-game winning streak for them in the Backyard Brawl, 80-63 on Dec. 6, 2023 in Morgantown and 86-62 on Nov. 15, 2024 in Pittsburgh.

Pitt hasn't won back-to-back games in Morgantown since Feb. 7, 2011, 71-66, and Jan. 30, 2012, 72-66.

WVU improves to 6-2 since the Backyard Brawl restarted in 2017 after ending in 2012, when WVU left the Big East for the Big 12 and then Pitt left for the ACC after the following season.

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