NCAA tournament: West Virginia routs Morgan State, 77-50

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Kevin Jones scored 17 points and second-seeded West Virginia overcame an early scare to open the NCAA tournament with a 77-50 win over Morgan State on Friday at Buffalo, N.Y.

Devin Ebanks added 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Big East champion Mountaineers (28-6), who started the game missing their first 11 shots and trailing 10-0. With star guard Da’Sean Butler shut down by Morgan State, Jones stepped up to score 9 points during a decisive 21-4 run near the end of the first half.

Reggie Holmes scored 12 points for Morgan State (27-10), the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champ, which was making its second tournament appearance.

The Mountaineers advance to the second round of the East Regional, where they’ll play the winner of the game between No. 7 seed Clemson and No. 10 Missouri, who meet later Friday.

-- Associated Press