Pitt Falls to Virginia; WVU Downs Kansas

February 7, 2021 7:31 am

Sam Hauser scored 10 of his 23 points during a key second-half stretch, and No. 14 Virginia pulled away from Pittsburgh for a 73-65 victory on Saturday. Hauser, Jay Huff and Tomas Woldetensae all hit back-to-back three-pointers in a 23-9 surge that turned a 36-all tie into a 59-45 lead for the Cavaliers (13-3, 9-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). Two free throws by Hauser launched Virginia’s big run. Huff followed with a pair of 3-pointers and, after Woldetensae hit a pair of free throws, Hauser added a pair of 3s and Woldetensae added two more. Woldetensae, a streaky left-handed shooter who hadn’t scored in limited action in four games for the ACC leaders, had 14 points. Huff finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. Virginia has won nine of its last 10, all against ACC competition. Justin Champagnie led the Panthers (9-6, 5-5) with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Ithiel Horton had 15 points.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — — For once, No. 17 West Virginia found a way to finish strong. Miles McBride scored a career-high 31 points (following video review), Taz Sherman had a career-best 25 and West Virginia kept pushing all game long, beating No. 23 Kansas 91-79 on Saturday. The Mountaineers (13-5, 6-3 Big 12) never trailed and got off to a good start in a challenging stretch where they will play six straight opponents that are currently ranked. Nail-biting finishes have been the norm lately for the Mountaineers, who needed some late free throws to hold off Iowa State on the road on Tuesday. They faded in a close loss to Florida at home on Jan. 30 and they got a last-second shot from McBride to edge No. 13 Texas Tech on Jan. 25.

McBride’s career-best game got even better. A review of video from the win over Kansas found that a first-half field goal was incorrectly credited to the Mountaineers’ Jalen Bridges. It should have been awarded to McBride. The fix gave McBride one more basket and one less assist. He finished with 31 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. West Virginia plays at No. 13 Texas Tech on Tuesday.