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13 February 2010
PITTSBURGH - For the second time in three seasons, West Virginia lost a game at Pitt that it appeared to have all wrapped up. This one took a lot longer than the last one, though.
After blowing a five-point lead in the final 34 seconds of regulation, the Mountaineers fell 98-95 to Pitt in three overtimes Friday night. The game lasted more than three hours and stretched across two days.
Aside from the overtimes, it was reminiscent of a 55-54 loss here two years ago when the Mountaineers appeared to have the game won, only to surrender a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to Ronald Ramon.
The loss was the second in a row for No. 5 West Virginia (19-5, 8-4 Big East), which 10 days earlier handed Pitt a 70-51 loss in Morgantown. The Mountaineers, who fell at home to No. 4 Villanova Monday night, are now 0-2 since moving into the Top 5 for the first time in nearly 40 years.
Pitt (19-6, 8-4) extended its winning streak to three since the loss in Morgantown. The Panthers, who were ranked briefly in the Top 10 last month after a 15-2 start, plummeted down in the rankings after losing four of five.
West Virginia had blown a five-point lead in a span of 12 seconds late in regulation to allow Pitt to force overtime, rallied from a five-point deficit to force a second overtime on Truck Bryant's 3-pointer, then turned to its defense to preserve a tie in the final seconds and force a third.
In the third overtime, no more than a basket separated the teams and West Virginia had two chances at the end. Devin Ebanks missed a go-ahead shot from just beyond the free-throw line with 12 seconds to play and WVU trailing 96-95, then Bryant couldn't convert another game-saver after Pitt had gone up by the final score.
Da'Sean Butler finished the marathon with 32 points and 11 rebounds, while Ebanks had 17 points and 10 boards, Bryant 20 points, Wellington Smith 11 and Kevin Jones eight points and 10 rebounds.
Pitt got 24 points each from Brad Wannamaker and Ashton Gibbs, each of whom made huge shots to help decide the game or send it into one of the overtimes.
In the first overtime, West Virginia fell behind right away, 75-70, but tied it at 75 on all free throws and defense. Pitt led 77-75 when Butler missed a step-back 3-pointer with eight seconds to go that appeared to seal the deal, but when Gibbs made just one of two free throws with 7.1 seconds to play WVU still had life.
Butler got the ball to Bryant and Pitt failed to foul him before he could get off his 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds to play to send it to a second overtime.
As it had in the first overtime, West Virginia fell behind from the start in the second, but never by more than a possession. When Butler was fouled on a tying 3-point attempt with 20 seconds to play, he made all three free throws to knot the game at 88.
Then in the final seconds, Wannamaker drove to the basket and missed, Gary McGhee tipped the ball up and missed, then Travon Woodall caught the ball and fired up a shot at the buzzer that swished through. But officials immediately waved it off as being after the buzzer and confirmed it using replay.
