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Tshiebwe Scores Double-Double in First Half of Backyard Brawl

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PITTSBURGH — Oscar Tshiebwe’s first taste of West Virginia’s storied rivalry with the Pitt Panthers is off to a good start as the freshman recorded a double-double in the first half of his second career game.

In his collegiate debut against Akron last Friday, Tshiebwe was limited to only 12 minutes due to foul trouble. In those 12 minutes, the 6-foot-9 forward scored five points and pulled down five boards. In 18 minutes during the first half against the Panthers, Tshiebwe scored 12 points and came down with 12 rebounds.

During the foul-filled half, Tshiebwe made 5-of-8 shots and sank 2-of-5 free throws. The Mountaineers shot poorly as a team, going 12-of-31 from the floor, but Tshiebwe grabbed six offensive boards to help West Virginia to a slim 36-35 halftime lead.

Tshiebwe’s high school coach, Kennedy Catholic’s Rick Mancino, said Tshiebwe can score a double-double without anyone even noticing.

“If he plays a considerable amount of minutes, he’s going to have a double-double every game,” Macino said earlier this week. “He’s going to have it and people watching the game aren’t going to realize he has it.”

Tshiebwe presents a matchup nightmare for a somewhat undersized Pitt squad. Terrell Brown was Pitt’s only starting forward, and the Panthers struggled to match the two-bigs lineup head coach Bob Huggins was using.

Tshiebwe started alongside sophomore forward Derek Culver, playing 14 minutes and senior Logan Routt played eight minutes off the WVU bench.

Noone could content with Tshiebwe on the glass. As the McDonald’s All-American came down with a dozen rebound, no other player grabbed more than four. Guard Trey McGowens led the Panthers with four.

“Oscar is going to get those rebounds because he’s the first one down the floor,” Mancino explained. “He’s going to beat you down the floor and he’s going to get two or three rebounds just because he’s outhustling everybody.”

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