PITTSBURGH -- Jevon Carter didn't let early foul trouble curb his playmaking aggression, but his absence during a second-half stretch made No. 18 West Virginia vulnerable during a 69-60 win at Pitt.

Rekindling the Backyard Brawl for the first time in six seasons, the Mountaineers (9-1) built a 20-point first-half lead when Carter poured in 17 of his 19 points.

Most of that cushion was gone when the Panthers (5-5) drew within 61-59 on Marcus Carr's four-point play -- a comeback launched by Carter going to the bench with 13:54 left after picking up his third and fourth fouls on back-to-back possessions.

"If I don't get those (last) two fouls, we probably keep playing at that same pace, but I sat out a lot," said Carter, who added nine assists and six rebounds. "It's a long season, and we're going to have to count on other guys."

Pitt's comeback melted down when it missed its final six shots over the final 5:31 with Carter back on the floor, and Daxter Miles making two baskets to finish with 15 points.

"They were just better than us," said Panthers coach Kevin Stallings, whose team rallied from a 45-28 halftime hole. "If halftime didn't come when it did, we might have died on the vine out there. But our kids showed their character and had a chance to win the game."

Lamont West added 13 and reserve Beetle Bolden chipped in 10 for West Virginia, which posted its ninth consecutive win despite attempting only nine free throws to Pitt's 31.

Ryan Luther's 13 points and 12 rebounds led Pitt, which committed only four of its 14 turnovers in the second half, when foul trouble sent "Press Virginia" backing off into 1-3-1 zone.

"Surviving. Just trying to survive," said Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins. "We had two or three starters with four fouls, so I was playing 1-3-1 to protect them."

After picking up his second foul with 7:40 left in the first half, Carter stayed on the floor, a decision that turned golden for Huggins when his star player scored 12 unanswered points in a 90-second span.

Carter made three straight 3-pointers, one coming off a screen that sent a defender sprawling and had Stalings stomping his way to a technical. Carter made the resulting free throw, and soon the Mountaineers led 38-18.

That looked like the end, with visiting Mountaineers fans making more noise than the students in the "Oakland Zoo." Until Pitt, sporting one of the nation's youngest rosters, showed some moxie.

"If you had told me I could sign up for 14 turnovers tonight, I would've done it," Stallings said. "And if you told me we could shoot 31 free throws to their nine, I would've signed up for that too."

The Panthers also won the rebounding battle 38-32, leading Huggins to lament, "They kicked our butt on the glass."

Pitt's Carr and Shamiel Stevenson each finished with 12 points, though the point guard Carr gave away five turnovers.

NOTES: West Virginia improved to 3-9 at Petersen Events Center and leads the all-time series 97-88. This was the beginning of a four-year contract. ... Kevin Stallings fell to 21-22 as the Panthers' coach. ... G Jevon Carter, the national steals leader, failed to record a steal for the first time this season.