Inside The Panthers

Takeaways: Pitt Takes Control of Backyard Brawl

Pitt Panthers took control of Backyard Brawl after win vs. West Virginia.

Dominic Campbell

Nov 15, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers guard Damian Dunn (1) shoots against West Virginia Mountaineers center Eduardo Andre (0) and guard KJ Tenner (3) during the second half at the Petersen Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Nov 15, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers guard Damian Dunn (1) shoots against West Virginia Mountaineers center Eduardo Andre (0) and guard KJ Tenner (3) during the second half at the Petersen Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers put on a performance as they dominated rival West Virginia, 86-62, in the Backyard Brawl at the Petersen Events Center.

Pitt Takes Control of Backyard Brawl

The Backyard Brawl features as one of the fiercest rivalries in college sports, with the two schools just 75 miles apart in Pitt and West Virginia.

This matchup served as the 191st matchup between the two schools, which started in 1906 and took place each season from 1918-2012.

Pitt and West Virginia didn't play for the next five seasons, as the teams moved to the ACC and Big 12, respectively, but reignited the rivalry in 2017.

The Mountaineers came out victorious the first five times with the renewal of the Backyard Brawl, but the Panthers have won the past two games in convincing fashion.

Blake Hinson led Pitt last year in Morgantown, W.Va., scoring 29 points and making a program-record nine 3-pointers in the 80-63 victory.

The Panthers dominated yet again in this matchup and led by as much as 31 points in the second half in a convincing win. They also had four players score in double-digits and eight players total score a basket.

Pitt had great fan support, 10,744 was the official attendance, and the Oakland Zoo set a record for student tickets in this game as well.

The students and Panther fans gave it to the Mountaineers any chance they got, bolstering the team in their huge win.

This type of win gives fans something to cheer about for an entire year. A big victory over a rival and one that extends to other sports these two teams play in, espcially football, which Pitt won at home as well.

It bolsters the program and also allows fans to have a sense of pride in their team, even when things don't always go the right way. There's almost no better feeling than beating your biggest rival and Pitt has already done it twice in a two month span.

This also serves as the first home win for Pitt vs. WVU since 2011, losing the past four matchups in 2012, 2017, 2019 and 2022.

Pitt head coach Jeff Capel hopes that the fan support will continue improving and that they get these types of environments every game.

"It was huge," Capel said on the fan support. "It was huge. I think these guys deserve to have a crowd like that and hopefully it’s something we can have going forward, all the time. In the past two years, I think we’ve been a pretty good team and I think we’ve been an exciting team to watch. I think this team is an exciting team to watch. So hopefully, there are people that appreciate that, I know that Zoo appreciates it and hopefully everyone appreciates it and we can come out and have a great performance from fan attendance.

"I thought we played well today. If we come out and suck on Monday [vs. VMI], I’d be pissed. I thought the fans had a great night and we need them to be great on Monday as well.”

Damian Dunn Dominates Yet Again

Graduate student guard Damian Dunn showed everyone that he deserves far more credit than he got coming into this season, after transferring in from Houston.

Dunn led the Panthers with 23 points, shooting 7-for-12 from the field, 4-for-7 from 3-point range and 5-for-7 from the foul line in 30 minutes vs. the Mountaineers.

He hit two big 3-pointers during a scoring run in the first half and hit two more, plus converted an and-one layup opportunity in the second half to extend the lead by 30.

This served as the most points he has scored in a game since he dropped 34 points for Temple in an 88-83 loss on the road against Cincinnati on Feb. 22, 2023.

“Really just to roll off momentum and trust my teammates to put me in positions to make plays for us down the stretch or early in the game," Dunn said on his performance. "Really just competing, honestly, is really what it was. Just being assertive and aggressive, but knowing my assignment defensively and kind of letting that take me and carry over offensively to make big plays.”

He also had the task of guarding West Virginia's best player in senior guard/forward Tucker DeVries. DeVries joined West Virginia with head coach Darian DeVries, his father, from Drake, where he was a two-time Larry Bird Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year honoree.

Dunn held DeVries to just six points and 2-for-10 shooting from the field, which also saw him foul out midway through the second quarter.

Capel praised Dunn for his defense, which he improved vastly on during his time at Houston last season under head coach Kelvin Sampson, which has complimented his scoring prowess.

“I thought he was outstanding," Capel said on Dunn. "I thought, more importantly, that he was really good defensively. That’s where I think, and again I’ve said this, I don’t think he got better last year because it didn’t show up in scoring. His scoring average went down a lot from what it was at Temple, but he became a better basketball player from that culture and I think you saw that.

“I’m not worried about Dame scoring. I think we can unlock that part of his game that’s always been there. I was really impressed with the challenge that he took to guard that kid and I thought he did an unbelievable job of doing that.”

Guillermo Diaz Graham Brings the Passion Pitt Needed

Pitt junior forward Guillermo Diaz Graham took a big hit right in the beginning of the game, as WVU sophomore forward Amari Hansberry hit him with right in the face with his other arm on a layup.

Diaz Graham went to the floor and the Pitt medical staff treated him in the locker room, giving him two stitches. That hit sparked something in Diaz Graham and got him ready to give it his all in the Backyard Brawl.

“It got me fired up," Diaz Graham said on the hit. When I came back I was ready to kill. No, for real. I was cussing, I was mad and when I came back, I was ready.”

He had a good game overall, scoring 10 points, shooting 4-for-5 from the field and making two 3-pointers. He also grabbed 10 rebounds for just his second double-double, as he had 23 points and 10 rebounds in a win vs. Jacksonville at home on Nov. 17, 2023.

Diaz Graham leaned on the words of associate head coach Milan Brown to use that passion and aggression to play well, but to also make sure he stay level-headed and get the job done.

“We talked about it before the game," Diaz Graham said. "Coach [Milan] Brown he talked about it. He said play with passion, but lean into your work. You get fired up with the passion then you have to be able to come back. Also helped that getting fired up helped me get my mind into the game and helps me to start flowing, stop thinking too much and I think that really helped me out.”

Dunn also took inspiration from the hit Diaz Graham received and that the entire team rallied around him, helping them put on an exceptional performance.

“We kind of felt early on that they were kind of being a little aggressive," Dunn said. "When G got hit, it kind of settled in for us and we kind of took that as a little bit of adversity, but we overcame it and just punched back a little bit and the rest was history.”

Capel wants to see that aggression from Diaz Graham more consistently and praised him and the team for bringing the energy necessary in a rivalry game.

“It was awesome. It was awesome, but our whole team had it. We were ready to go. We were dialed up right from the beginning. Our guys understood that there’s a different energy in the building and we’re playing against a rival from a really good conference. So this was a big time game for us and we were ready to go and I thought it was great to see Guillermo to come back in the game with such fire. Hopefully that’s something we can bottle up and get from him every game.”

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Dominic Campbell
DOMINIC CAMPBELL

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