BUFFALO, N.Y. — The way West Virginia was missing one shot after another, the thought actually crossed forward Kevin Jones’ mind whether the Mountaineers would ever hit a basket.
After missing their first 11 attempts, the second-seeded Mountaineers eventually found their range Friday — and have Jones to thank for leading the way.
The sophomore forward scored 13 of his game-high 17 points in the first half in helping West Virginia (28-6) roll to a 77-50 win over No. 15 seed Morgan State and avoid another Big East flameout in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
“We always let teams get off to those huge leads and let them get confidence and that’s where it hurts us,” Jones said. “I’m just glad we could come out and stomp on them and not let them back into the game.”
Stomp they did.
Jones went 4-for-4 for nine points during a decisive 21-4 run over a 6-minute stretch in the first half. Devin Ebanks scored 16 and added 13 rebounds for the Mountaineers, who found another dimension to their offense after the Bears contained star guard Da’Sean Butler.
Reggie Holmes scored 12 points for Morgan State (27-10), the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champ, which followed up its first tournament appearance last year with another bid this season. Kevin Thompson had eight rebounds and three blocks to go with nine points for the Bears.
The Big East champions advanced to the second round of the East Regional on Sunday, when West Virginia will face No. 10 seed Missouri after its 86-78 win over Clemson.
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Associated Press West Virginia’s Devin Ebanks (3) and Morgan State’s John Long battle for a rebound during the first half of their first-round NCAA tournament game in Buffalo, N.Y., Friday. West Virginia won, 77-50. Associated Press
WVU survives slow start to rout Morgan St.
Kevin Jones’ 17 helps Mountaineers roll, 77-50
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