WEST LIBERTY – The No. 9-ranked West Liberty University men’s basketball team snapped out of its mini-slide in a big way Monday night, hammering previously-unbeaten Glenville State from start to finish in a 117-85 blowout win inside the ASRC.
Coach Ben Howlett’s Hilltoppers (5-3) raced out to a double-digit lead midway through the opening half and never took their foot off the gas in knocking the Pioneers (5-1) from the ranks of the unbeaten.
“It has been a tough couple of weeks,” Howlett said, “but I’m really proud of our guys for the maturity they’ve shown in dealing with the adversity and their continued commitment to playing the game the way we want to play. It’s taking a little longer than we would have liked but we’re getting there.”
Passing was the name of the game for the Black and Gold on Monday. Barely 48 hours after being charted with a season-low 6 assists in a 78-74 loss at Charleston, the Hilltoppers assisted on 16 of 21 field goals in the first half alone in building a 53-35 lead.
That theme continued to play out over the final 20 minutes as West Liberty tied a season high with 31 assists on 42 field goals – a major factor in shooting 53 percent (42-of-79) from the floor.
“Absolutely,” Howlett said. “For the last two days, we’ve talking non-stop about more passing, better spacing and much less dribbling and the guys responded in a big way. We’re a good basketball team and these are the things we need to do in order to be good every night.”
Any hopes of a Glenville comeback faded quickly when play resumed in the second half as the Hilltoppers hit six of their first seven shots from the floor to open up a 23-point lead – 64-41 – on a Dalton Bolon 3-pointer less than three minutes into the half.
The margin never dropped below 20 points again as the hosts pulled away.
Bolon finished with a game-high 26 points while Pat Robinson added 20 and Will Yoakum finished with 18. Bryce Butler made a run at a double-double with 10 points and 8 rebounds with true freshman Elijah Watson adding 10 points – including three dunks – while grabbing 5 boards.
Senior guard Luke Dyer turned in yet another masterful performance at the point with a career-high 12 assists and zero turnovers in just 21 minutes of court time.
John Williams paced five double-figure scorers for Glenville State with 21 points.
The Hilltoppers are facing another quick turnaround as their next assignment is a trip to Davis & Elkins on Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.
Wheeling Women Improve to 5-2
WHEELING – Lily Ritz outdueled Concord’s Riley Fitzwater in a battle of two of the top posts in the Mountain East and all of Division II as Wheeling defeated the visiting Lions (4-4) 69-60 at the McDonough Center.
The Cardinals improve to 5-2 with the victory, giving head coach Mike Llanas his best start to date in his third season and the program’s best start since beginning the 2016-17 campaign with a 10-1 mark.
Ritz total 25 points and 19 rebounds one game removed from a 30-rebound performance against W.Va. State. Fitzwater totaled 21 and 12, but struggled at the free throw line, going 3 of 10.
Maura Castelluci scored 10 points and Wheeling Park’s Shanley Woods, Buckeye Local’s Emily Holzopfel and steadily improving freshman Haley Cox each chipped in eight.
Wheeling led 21-14 after the first quarter before suffering through a two-quarter cold streak that saw the home team shoot a combined 9-of-38 (24 percent) from the field.
Fortunes changed during the final quarter as the Cardinals started to regain the touch while the Lions struggled with a 4-of-14 rating in the final 10 minutes. That allowed Wheeling to retake the lead for good, outscoring the visitors 21-11 down the stretch in a game where the lead changed hands eight times.
Wheeling is currently second in the North Division behind Notre Dame (7-1) and fourth overall, behind unbeaten Charleston (8-0) and Glenville State (6-1). The Cardinals head to Buckhannon on Wednesday for a meeting with the W.Va. Wesleyan Bobcats (1-7). Wesleyan fell 76-66 on Monday at Notre Dame.
