No. 16 Pittsburgh Takes Out No. 10 West Virginia In Triple Overtime

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Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - Ashton Gibbs drained six three-pointers, one of those forcing overtime, to end with 24 points and Brad Wanamaker scored eight of his career-high 24 points in extra time, as 25th-ranked Pittsburgh pulled out a dramatic triple-overtime 98-95 win over fifth-ranked West Virginia in a classic Big East battle from the Petersen Events Center.

Gilbert Brown was clutch after regulation as well, where he posted 10 of his 16 points, including the two go-ahead free throws with 28.8 seconds left in the third overtime.

Wanamaker added 10 assists and five rebounds, Gary McGhee secured the game's final rebound, one of 12, to help stave off another comeback attempt by West Virginia. Travon Woodall chipped in 12 points for the Panthers (19-6, 8-4 Big East), who have won three in a row after a stretch of four losses in five games.

Da'Sean Butler poured in 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, forcing the third OT by hitting three clutch free throws with 20.6 seconds on the clock.

Darryl Bryant had 20 points and also played hero for a time, stroking a game- tying three-pointer as time expired in the first overtime. Devin Ebanks added 17 points and 10 boards for the Mountaineers (19-5, 8-4 Big East), who lost to No.4 Villanova on Monday snapping a six-game win streak.

Pitt trailed the entire second half and things looked bleak for the hosts after two free throws by Bryant gave the Mountaineers a 66-59 lead with 1:11 to play in regulation.

Gibbs sank a jumper and Woodall made two at the line to trim the deficit to three, but Bryant hit two more at the line to gain WVU a 68-63 advantage with 34 seconds to go.

Pitt smartly used the clock to its advantage, though, running the floor to get a quick layup from Woodall. Then, Nasir Robinson's thievery of Bryant in WVU's end led to a series of touch passes around the arc, and Gibbs dropped a three from the right wing with 24.4 ticks left to tie the game at 68-68.

Bryant had a chance to give West Virginia the win, but his jumper fell short with 1.6 on the clock.

"I think that we can be really good. All we've heard is how young and inexperienced we are. I tell our guys that those things don't matter," said Pitt coach Jamie Dixon. "We need to play older than we are. That's been our rallying cry and what we believe. We have to keep building."

Wanamaker then set the tone for virtually all three overtimes, pouring in five quick Panther points to swing momentum in the hosts' direction. The Mountaineers went to the line for five consecutive free throws to tie the game at 75-all with 1:08 on the clock.

But a resounding dunk from Brown put Pitt back in front and Gibbs was sent to the line with 7.1 ticks showing after missed threes from Kevin Jones and Butler.

Gibbs, though, hit just 1-of-2 for a 78-75 score and a quick outlet pass sent Bryant running toward the Panthers' end. He pulled up beyond the right elbow and hoisted a game-tying three to force a second extra frame.

Gibbs continued to keep the momentum with the hosts, hitting a three to open play back up and Wanamaker converted a three-point play to keep Pitt in front, 86-83, with 52 seconds to go.

Butler kept WVU close with a jumper, but Woodall kept the margin at three with two free throws. McGhee, though, got a piece of Butler's arm on a three- pointer, sending him to the stripe with 20.6 seconds left.

He made all three to tie the game at 88 apiece, and a series of putbacks off a missed Wanamaker layup proved unsuccessful, although, it initially looked as if the final attempt off a Woodall floater that dropped through counted. The referees got together and ruled the ball left his hand a fraction too late and the game moved to a third OT.

The final period proved to be just as nail-biting as the rest with Butler countering a Robinson free throw for a 95-94 lead with 43 seconds left. Brown, though was fouled and made both to Pitt up one.

Ebanks came back on West Virginia's possession with a long deuce that was off the mark, and Gibbs hit two clutch free throws at the other end for a three- point game.

The visitors had one last chance to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time all season, but the theatrics had run their course, and Bryant's attempt at a three fell off the front of the rim into the arms of McGhee as time expired.

"We played pretty well in overtime but when you have the ball and you're up five points, you're supposed to win," said West Virginia coach Bob Huggins referring to his team's chances to put the game away. "We went to the line and missed free throws and fumbled around. You have to give Pitt credit. They didn't fold, but they had a lot of help from us."

Both sides played it close in regulation as well. WVU held a 35-25 lead following a Bryant three-ball with a little more than three minutes to play in the first half, but Pitt finished out the frame by scoring seven of the last nine points to trail 37-32.

The Mountaineers re-gained a 10-point lead straight out of the shoot in the second half. Wellington Smith's three capped a 10-5 stretch for a 47-37 affair a shade over four minutes in.

The Panthers began a methodical comeback from there, getting to within five, 56-51, on two Jermaine Dixon free throws at the halfway point, and to four at 62-58 following a Gibbs three with four minutes to go.

Pitt is 14-1 at the Petersen Events Center this season, and the program moved to 6-0 all-time there against Top-5 ranked teams...Jones contributed 10 rebounds and eight points for West Virginia, which shot 41.9 percent from the field overall...Robinson had five points and six boards for Pitt, which connected on 43.9 percent of its shots...The Panthers' bench outscored the opposition 34-7...The Mountaineers defeated Pitt, 70-51, just last week in an especially chippy edition to the rivalry dubbed the "Backyard Brawl"...Friday's classic was the 180th all-time meeting in the series with the Mountaineers holding a 95-85 advantage.