Pitt-WVU: Ronald Ramon Sinks a Heartbreaker in Panther Victory

Ronald Ramon is many things: point guard, senior, and now, a hero.

In the 174th edition of the Backyard Brawl, Ramon hit the game-winning three as time expired to send Pitt to a 54-55 win. 

Keith Benjamin and Sam Young led all Panther scorers with ten points. Dejaun Blair led them in rebounding with 12 rebounds.

Blair started off the game 0-4 then rebounded to make his next two field goals. Blair's two capped off an early 10-0 run. Darris Nichols had 16 points to lead the Mountaineers in scoring. 

With the win, the Panthers are 13-1 this year at home and 18-5 overall.

West Virginia star Alex Ruoff scored only seven in his previous two games. Ruoff and Alexander combined for one point in the first half. WVU guard Joe Mazzulla made them pay for gambling on him by hitting back-to-back threes early in the first half, highlighting a 9-5 spree to close out the half and give West Virginia a one-point lead 27-26.

Blair concluded the first half going 2-9 and ending up with four points. Mazzulla went 3-3 and had eight points at the break. 

WVU started the second half on an 8-0 run. Pitt countered the move by going on a 8-0 run of their own. Pitt forward Sam Young hit several key threes down the stretch fueling a 15-7 run to give them the lead 48-45. A layup by Mazzula, and jumpers by Darris Nichols gave the Mountaineers a one point lead 53-50.

On the next Panther possession, Dejaun Blair threw a touch pass to Keith Benjamin for a dunk to make it 53-52. Alex Ruoff was fouled and missed the first free throw but made the second one (54-52 WVU lead).

With eight seconds left, Keith Benjamin penetrated and drew the defense in and then kicked out to a wide-open Ronald Ramon. Ramon calmly took a reasonable amount of time and then sank the game-deciding three to give Pitt the lead.

Levance Fields is scheduled to make his return against Louisville in a couple of weeks. Pitt outshot them field goal-wise 40 percent to 35.3 percent, outrebounded them 35 to 30, and out-dimed them 11-9.