Dec. 9, 2006
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PITTSBURGH (AP) - Alex Ruoff scored all 18 of his points on 3-pointers and Frank Young, West Virginia's only returning scorer, also had 18 as the Mountaineers ran away from undermanned Duquesne behind their strong outside shooting in a 85-54 victory Saturday night.
West Virginia was 17-of-29 from 3-point range, with Ruoff going 6-for-9 and Young 5-for-5 behind the arc. The Mountaineers also took advantage of 24 turnovers by player-thin Duquesne (2-6), which second game in four days to a returning NCAA tournament team. The Dukes lost to No. 2 Pittsburgh 73-56 on Wednesday.
The Mountaineers trailed by three points early in the game but scored 10 consecutive points to open a 39-19 lead about five minutes before halftime. West Virginia, which came into the game averaging 10.3 3-pointers per game, led by as many as 23 in the first half.
Duquesne tried to make a brief run early in the second half, getting to within 14 points at 53-39, but Ruoff hit 3-pointers on three of West Virginia's next four possessions as the Mountaineers pushed the lead to 67-39. Ruoff was 6-of-9 on 3s and 6-of-12 overall.
The Mountaineers, playing their fifth game away from Morgantown but their first true road game, had four players in double figures for the fourth game in a row. Joe Alexander added 15 points and Da'Sean Butler had 10.
Robert Mitchell, a 6-foot-6 freshman and the only Dukes player to score in double-figures in every game, had 22 points and Kieron Achara had 15 in his second game of the season. Achara missed Duquesne's first six games with three stress fractures in a foot.
West Virginia's 31-point margin was a rare rout in a non-conference series between neighboring schools who had split their last eight games, though the Mountaineers have won the last four.
The Mountaineers' only loss came to Arkansas 71-64 in a neutral site tournament in Orlando. They were coming off a 71-60 decision over North Carolina State in state capital Charleston in which Ruoff was 5-for-6 from beyond the 3-point arc.
