Andre Drummond added 20 points and 11 boards for UConn (13-3, 3-2 Big East), which snapped a a two-game losing streak.
Kevin Jones, the Big East's leading scorer and rebounder, had 22 points for West Virginia (12-5, 3-2).
Connecticut, which lost at Seton Hall and Rutgers last week, dropped nine spots in the Top 25 on Monday. The Huskies have not lost three straight since March 2010.
UConn trailed 46-36 with just over 11 minutes left before a dunk by Lamb sparked a Huskies run. A steal and a dunk by Ryan Boatright tied the score at 48 and Lamb's 3-pointer put the Huskies ahead with just over 5 minutes left.
Lamb had 17 points after intermission. He had just eight points in UConn's loss to Rutgers, ending a streak of 25 consecutive games in double figures.
A driving dunk from Drummond along the left baseline made it 53-49 and forced West Virginia coach Bob Huggins to call a timeout.
The Mountaineers tied it at 55 on a dunk by Jones.
Lamb's jumper with 2 1/2 minutes left put the Huskies up for good, 57-55. The Huskies led 58-57 when Drummond rebounded a miss by Lamb. His short putback gave the Huskies a 60-57 lead with 1:18 left.
UConn's freshman center hit nine of his 11 shots.
Connecticut scored the first six points of the second half to erase a five-point deficit, but Jones responded with two putback baskets that sparked a 13-2 West Virginia run that gave it a 10-point lead.
Darryl "Truck" Bryant, who came in averaging more than 18 points a game, hit just two of his 13 shots for West Virginia, which shot 32 percent from the floor.
UConn shot 55 percent, but was outrebounded 38-32 â€" as the Mountaineers grabbed 20 offensive boards.
Lamb had five early points, and Drummond two dunks as UConn jumped out to a quick 9-4 lead, but West Virginia responded by scoring the next six.
Jones, who came into the game averaging almost 20 points and 12 rebounds per game, scored eight straight points, on two 3s and a layup, to give the Mountaineers a 21-16 lead. Jones, who was being guarded much of the time by Drummond, was able to step outside on UConn's big men. He hit three of his first five shots from 3-point range.
Connecticut turned the ball over nine times in the first half and had no offensive rebounds, while the Mountaineers had eight offensive boards and 15 points off those UConn turnovers in building a 33-28 halftime lead.
Huskies coach Jim Calhoun was coaching his first home game since serving a three-game suspension for NCAA recruiting violations.
UConn was coming off a bad trip to New Jersey that included a 67-60 loss to Rutgers on Saturday after a 75-63 setback at Seton Hall.
WVU beat Rutgers 85-64 last Wednesday and was coming off a 74-62 victory over then-No. 9 Georgetown on Saturday.
Boatright had committed to West Virginia, but changed his mind after the Mountaineers landed point guard Jabarie Hinds â€" the team's asissts leader who had eight points. Boatright had seven points, four rebounds and four assists for UConn.
Calhoun and Huggins rank third and fourth in wins among active men's coaches. Calhoun came into the game with 865, and Huggins had 703. Only Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (912) and Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (873) have more victories.
West Virginia shot six of 14 from 3-point range. The Mountaineers have made at least one 3-point field goal in 407 consecutive games. The last time WVU did not make a 3 was against Robert Morris on Nov. 27, 1999.
UConn improved to 10-0 at home this season.
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