Toussaint, Stevenson lead WVU over Pittsburgh 81-56

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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.

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.


Pittsburgh’s Nelly Cummings (0) shoots as West Virginia’s Mohamed Wague, right, defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Friday, Nov. 11, 2022, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

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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