PITTSBURGH — West Virginia freshman forward Oscar Tshiebwe scored 20 points and grabbed 17 rebounds and the Mountaineers smothered Pittsburgh in the second half to pull away for a 68-53 victory on Friday night.

The 6-foot-9, 258-pound Tschibwe outmuscled and largely outhustled the Panthers inside as West Virginia (2-0) won its third straight over the Panthers (2-2) since the “Backyard Brawl” between the longtime rivals was renewed in 2017. The Mountaineers dominated Pitt on the glass, outrebounding the Panthers 51-37 and holding Pitt to 12 percent shooting (3 of 25) over the final 20 minutes to improve to 99-88 in 187 all-time meetings between the two schools separated by 70 miles.

Emmitt Matthews finished with 17 points and eight rebounds for the Mountaineers. Sean McNeil chipped in 11 points off the bench.

Trey McGowens led Pitt with 13 points.