MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Beetle Bolden scored 18 points to lead West Virginia to a 69-59 win over archrival Pittsburgh in the Backyard Brawl on Saturday.
The Mountaineers (6-3) won the defensive slugfest by doing what it does best, force turnovers. Pitt's 24 turnovers led to 22 points for their former Big East rivals. WVU also struggled however, with 26 turnovers throughout the game, the most by a Mountaineer team since 2002.
Both West Virginia and Pittsburgh played chippy basketball in the first half. Jared Wilson-Frame and Kene Chukwuka of Pitt as well as Lamont West and Andrew Gordon of WVU picked up technical fouls in the first half.