WEST VIRGINIA Sting from earlier loss drives Pittsnogle

WVU's 67-62 victory over Pittsburgh matched the Panthers' worst of the season.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -- Kevin Pittsnogle used the worst game of his career as motivation to play one of his best.
Pittsnogle, held scoreless by Pittsburgh two weeks ago, had 26 points in his final home game to lead No. 16 West Virginia to a 67-62 victory over the eighth-ranked Panthers on Monday night.
"It ate at me. I thought about it," Pittsnogle said. "We were not leaving this locker room without a win."
The Mountaineers (20-8, 11-4), who clinched a first-round bye in the Big East tournament, never trailed in earning a second straight 20-win season for the first time since 1997-98.
West Virginia has its first bye in the 12-team tournament, joining No. 2 Connecticut and No. 4 Villanova. The Mountaineers overtook Pittsburgh for sole possession of third place and can finish no worse than fourth.
Looking for help
Pittsburgh (21-5, 10-5) needs a win at home Friday night against Seton Hall and losses by Marquette and No. 20 Georgetown to earn the final bye.
No team has ever won four games in the Big East tournament. West Virginia won three last season before losing to Syracuse in the championship game.
The Mountaineers lost 57-53 loss to its neighbor 77 miles to the north on Feb. 9, a game in which Pittsnogle went 0-for-12 from the field and fouled out with 6:42 remaining.
He was a catalyst throughout Monday night's game, scoring in double figures in each half and making five of West Virginia's 12 3-pointers.
"Pittsnogle got better looks. They created some screens for him and he rolled off of them better," Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon said. "I didn't think he'd go scoreless tonight."
Pittsnogle's 3-point shooting also led two Mountaineer comeback victories over Pitt last season in which he scored a total of 49 points.
"He played with a chip on his shoulder," Pittsburgh center Aaron Gray said. "He was more physical. It was his Senior Day. He was on tonight."
West Virginia's five seniors combined for 63 of the team's 67 points. Johannes Herber, who was honored with his native Germany's national anthem before the game, scored 16 points and Mike Gansey had eight.
Top Panthers
Ronald Ramon and Sam Young each had 12 points for Pittsburgh, which went scoreless for 7 minutes spanning both halves.
Carl Krauser, Pittsburgh's leading scorer, had four of his 10 points in the final 22 seconds, but he finished 3-for-16 from the field.
The Mountaineers made seven straight baskets on 3-pointers to build a 41-30 lead with 17:49 left.
Pittsburgh then went on an 8-0 run. The Panthers cut the deficit to two points three times after that but never tied the game.
Pittsburgh guard Antonio Graves left with his fourth foul with 9 minutes left, and West Virginia starting to pull away.
Pittsburgh outshot West Virginia (49 percent-40 percent) and outrebounded the Mountaineers 41-24 but committed 17 turnovers to six by West Virginia.
"When we don't get turnovers, we can't win," West Virginia coach John Beilein said. "We had just enough late to hold on to the lead by playing tight defense and swarming the ball. We really dug out some ugly rebounds tonight."
West Virginia has three consecutive wins after losing a season-high three straight.
The loss matched Pittsburgh's worst of the season. The Panthers, whose five losses have been by a total of 19 points, could finish as low as sixth in the conference.
"It's going to be interesting to see where we end up," Gray said. "That last game is very important."