Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - Ronald Ramon had eight points, including the winning three-pointer as time expired, to lift No. 21 Pittsburgh over West Virginia, 55-54, at Petersen Events Center.

DeJuan Blair sent a touch pass to Keith Benjamin for a layup that cut the Mountaineers' lead to one with about a minute left. But after stopping the WVU on the ensuing possession, Pitt couldn't capitalize and was forced to foul. Alex Ruoff hit 1-of-2 to push the Mountaineers in front 54-52 with 9.5 ticks left.

After a timeout on the inbound, Benjamin received the pass and proceeded to drive to the hoop, only to find Ramon wide open with a no-look pass on the right wing. Ramon sank the trey as time expired for the win.

"I tried to get an open guy when I brought the ball in," Ramon said. "My first look was to Sam Young and they did a good job covering him, so I got it to Keith. Keith sucked two defenders with him, and I saw some open space and just kind of drifted over there and Keith did a great job to find me. It takes a great team effort to make a play like that."

Young and Benjamin had 10 points each for the Panthers (18-5, 6-4 Big East), who have alternated wins and losses for the past seven games. Blair also grabbed 12 rebounds in the win.

Darris Nichols had 16 points for West Virginia (16-7, 5-5), which has dropped three of its last four contests. Joe Mazzulla chipped in 15 points in defeat.

"Joe's one of us, Joe's the guy you want on your team," West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins said. "Joe's the guy you want on your side."

Down by four in the first half, Pitt rattled with 10 straight points to gave the Panthers the lead with 8:47 before the break. Ramon and Brad Wanamaker drained threes to start the run and Blair closed it out with a layup and a dunk, giving Pitt a 19-13 lead.

However, just minutes later, WVU used a 7-1 run to knot the game at 22 with just over three minutes on the clock. Da'Sean Butler and Mazzulla connected on threes, while Ruoff nailed a free throw on the surge.

The game remained close for the remainder of the half, and West Virginia eventually took a 27-26 lead into the locker room.

Just over a half a minute into the second half, Nichols connected on a bucket that sparked an 8-0 Mountaineer run. Ruoff also drained a three before Nichols closed it out with another trey. The spurt gave West Virginia a 35-28 cushion.

However, Pitt would answer back with an 8-0 run of its own to take a one-point lead with 14:16 on the clock. Benjamin had four points on the run, with Blair and Gilbert Brown giving two each.

The teams traded baskets until a Blair free throw, a Young jump shot and a Wanamaker layup gave the Panthers a 50-45 lead with 4 1/2 minutes showing on the clock.

But West Virginia responded with eight straight points, of which Nichols had six, to take a 53-50 lead with 1:22 to play.