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First-half spurt enough for West Virginia

Mar 14, 2007 - 2:16 AM MORGANTOWN, West Virginia (Ticker) -- West Virginia closed out the first half with a big run and Delaware State never got a second chance.

Frank Young scored 17 points and Alex Ruoff added 14 as West Virginia posted a 74-50 victory over Delaware State in a first-round East Region matchup in the National Invitation Tournament.

The top seed in the East, West Virginia (23-9) closed the first half on a 17-0 run to take a 39-13 lead at the break.

The Mountaineers may have been disappointed about being left out of the NCAA Tournament, but they did not show it against the Hornets. West Virginia shot 63 percent (15-of-24) from the field in the first half.

Delaware State shot 6-of-25 (24 percent) from the field in the opening 20 minutes and did not score in the final five minutes of the first half.

Jahsha Bluntt scored 19 points for the eighth-seeded Hornets (21-13) and Aaron Fleetwood had 14 points.

Delaware State earned an automatic bid into the NIT after winning its third straight Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference regular-season championship. Florida A&M knocked off Delaware at the buzzer in the conference championship game.

The Rattlers lost to Niagara, 77-69, in the opening-round game of the NCAA Tournament in Dayton, Ohio on Tuesday.

The Mountaineers will host the winner of the Massachusetts-Alabama game Thursday in the second round.