West Virginia Defeats Clemson to Win NIT

Mar 30, 12:00 AM

Current Headlines: NEW YORK _ It may not rival its Elite Eight run of two seasons ago and it may pale in comparison to its Sweet 16 appearance last season. But at least this time, West Virginia is going home with some championship hardware.

For the first time since 1942, the Mountaineers can call themselves NIT champions as Frank Young lit up Clemson for 24 points _ including six three-pointers _ as West Virginia claimed the title Thursday night with a 78-73 victory before 7,761 at Madison Square Garden.

The disappointment the Mountaineers (27-9) felt when they were snubbed by the NCAA Tournament committee earlier this month no longer stings. "It's been a lot of fun to play in this tournament," said Young, who made 117 threes this season for West Virginia. "Of course we wanted to be in the NCAA Tournament, but to win this tournament, all the joy is still there. We're still happy about finishing our season with a win."

About the only point in the game when WVU coach John Beilein was a little worried was midway through the first half when Young picked up a pair of fouls in a span of 15 seconds.

With the score tied at 15 at that point, Clemson had a chance to make a move. Instead, the Mountaineers stayed in the game until just before the 4:00 mark, when Beilein made a calculated gamble. He put Young back in the game rather than wait for the start of the second half.

"I just felt we needed him," said Beilein, who reportedly is the top candidate to be the next coach at Michigan. "But we had a stern talk before he went out on the floor. And under no conditions was he going to foul."

Young made Beilein's move look like a stroke of genius as the senior forward hit two straight threes within a 54-second span and West Virginia began to pull away.

Jamie Smalligan delivered another three-pointer just over a minute later, and when Da'Sean Butler added another three 58 seconds after that, the Mountaineers had nailed four treys in a span of 2:45 and the lead was 38-24.

The start of the second half nearly mirrored the end of the first. And when Young dropped in his fifth three-pointer of the night, the lead was 49-32 and Clemson (25-11), which was hoping to capture its first basketball title in school history, was going to have to wait at least another year. The Tigers' 11-0 run in the game's final moments was just window dressing.

"I just wanted to make sure I just left it all on the floor and did everything I could to try to help our team win," Young said.

Mission accomplished.

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