Men's Basketball | 1/13/2011 10:09:37 PM

BOX SCORE

FAIRMONT, W.Va. – The smallest member of the West Liberty University men's basketball team came up big here Thursday night to help the No. 1-ranked Hilltoppers remain unbeaten with a 99-98 victory at Fairmont State.
    Tim Hausfeld, a 5-7 sophomore guard, drained a career-high 4 3-point baskets but it was his two clutch free throws with 3.4 seconds remaining which finally sealed the deal for the Hilltoppers (12-0, 8-0) in the showdown between the top two teams in the West Virginia Conference standings.
    The Falcons (9-2, 7-2) had cut the West Liberty lead to 97-95 on an Isaac Thornton 3-pointer with 4 seconds left and Hausfeld was fouled immediately on the in-bounds pass.
    The Toledo, Ohio native – who had just swished a pair of free throws at the 20-second mark – calmly dropped in the two biggest foul tosses of his Hilltopper career for a 99-95 advantage.
    That provided just enough breathing room for the visitors to escape with a one-point win when the red-hot Thornton got another 3-pointer to fall at the buzzer.
    Playing its first-ever game as the nation's No. 1-ranked team, West Liberty had to overcome some serious early foul problems and an aroused Fairmont State team which blistered the nets at nearly a 70-percent pace well into the second half.
    The Hilltoppers were whistled for 16 fouls in the first half alone and lost Barry Shetzer at the 17:19 mark of the second half when the senior sharpshooter picked up his 4th and 5th fouls in a 16-second span.
    With all five starters battling foul trouble of various degrees, several West Liberty bench players took advantage of their extended minutes to rise to the occasion.
    Hausfeld – who hit a 30-footer at the halftime buzzer to send WLU into the locker room with a 62-56 lead – went 4-for-7 from beyond the 3-point arc and was a perfect 4-of-4 at the foul line to finish with 16 points.
    Chris Morrow, a 6-6 sophomore, finished with 9 points and a career-high 12 rebounds off the bench. His 18-foot jumper with 1:45 to go was West Liberty's final basket and pushed the Hilltopper lead to 94-90 at that crucial juncture.
    Corey Pelle and Alex Falk led the Hilltoppers with 19 and 18 points, respectively, while John Wolosinczuk added 16 points and 9 rebounds. Shetzer finished with 11 points despite seeing only 12 minutes of playing time.
    Thornton led all scorers for Fairmont State with 32 points while Steve Custis added 21 markers.
    West Liberty took the lead for good, 77-76, on a Pelle layup with 13:19 remaining as the Falcons' shooting hand finally began to cool after the sizzling start. Even so, Fairmont shot 57 percent (37-of-65) from the floor and 40 percent (10-of-25) from behind the 3-point arc on the night compared to 45 percent (31-of-68) and 31 percent (8-of-26) for the Hilltoppers.
    The Black and Gold won the battle of the boards by a 42-33 count and had a big advantage from the charity stripe, hitting 81 percent (29-of-36) of their foul tosses to just 63 percent (14-of-22) for the hosts.
    As noted, the Hilltopper bench played perhaps the most significant role in deciding the outcome. West Liberty got 29 points and 16 rebounds from its non-starters while the Falcon bench produced just 10 points and 10 rebounds.
    The Hilltoppers continue their road swing on Saturday with an afternoon trip to Bluefield State. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.