West Virginia wins NIT

NEW YORK – Frank Young and the West Virginia Mountaineers shot past Clemson to their first NIT title in 65 years.

Young scored 24 points, including six 3-pointers, and De’Sean Butler added 20 points to help West Virginia beat Clemson 78-73 in the NIT championship on Thursday night. Young was named the tournament’s most outstanding player.

It was the Mountaineers’ first NIT title since 1942.

The Mountaineers (27-9), who came from 14 down in the second half in the semifinal, didn’t need a late-game rally this time, using a 12-2 run at the end of the first half to take control of the game. The Tigers (25-11) trailed by double digits for the entire second half before a late spurt cut it to five with 3 seconds left.