COL BKB: West Virginia 73, Duke 67

WASHINGTON, March 22 (UPI) -- Joe Alexander's 22 points and 11 rebounds Saturday lifted West Virginia to a 73-67 upset win over Duke in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

WVU took full advantage of Duke's poor second-half shooting and won the rebounding battle by a whopping 47-27 margin in the West Region contest played at Verizon Center in Washington.

Duke, a No. 2 seed, led 34-29 at the break but an 18-3 run left seventh-seeded WVU with a 47-40 lead with 11:50 remaining.

Duke could not rally because of its cold shooting.

Long-range sharpshooter Alex Ruoff scored 17 points with six rebounds and reserve Joe Mazzulla added 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for the Mountaineers (26-10), who advanced to the third round Thursday in Phoenix.

Duke got a team-high 18 points from Gerald Henderson.

Jon Scheyer scored 15 and Greg Paulus 13 with three rebounds and two assists for the Blue Devils (28-6), who failed to survive the tournament's first weekend for the second straight season.