Men's Basketball | 11/23/2011 12:18:00 AM
Box Score BOX SCORE
PHILIPPI, W.Va. – The No. 6-ranked West Liberty University men's basketball team saved the best for last in pulling away to a 79-72 victory against Alderson-Broaddus on Monday night.
Stifled from the perimeter by the Battlers' (1-2, 1-1) smothering defense for much of the night, the Hilltoppers (4-1, 2-0) made just six 3-point shots in the game but two of them came in the final 2:30 as Coach
Jim Crutchfield's visitors broke open a tense affair.
Neither team had led by more than three points in the final 10 minutes until
Alex Falk's clutch bonus bomb from deep on the right wing pushed West Liberty out to a 70-66 lead with 2:28 remaining.
Nate Barnes answered with a pair of free throws for A-B at 2:07 but the Hilltoppers'
Tim Hausfeld followed with a 26-foot dagger from in front of the Hilltopper bench for a 73-68 advantage at the 1:30 mark and the hosts never got the margin under three points the rest of the way.
West Liberty shot a respectable 28-of-61 (45.9 percent) from the floor against the defensive-minded hosts but had made just 4-of-14 shots from behind the 3-point arc before Falk and Hausfeld found the range on WLU's final two bombs of the evening.
Despite playing without starting post
Nick Brown, who sat out the game with an injury, the Hilltoppers posted a 37-29 rebounding advantage – including 18 offensive boards.
Harris led all scorers for West Liberty with 26 points while
Chris Morrow added 14 points. Falk just missed a double-double with 11 points and 9 rebounds while freshman
C.J. Hester – who replaced Brown in the starting lineup – collected 11 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals before fouling out down the stretch.
Alderson-Broaddus got 18 points from Roy Brown while Kirkland Bohanon weighed in with 17 points and 9 rebounds. Barnes and Kason Frierson rounded out the double-figure scorers with 14 and 11 points, respectively.
The Hilltoppers will be idle over the Thanksgiving break but return to the hardwood on Nov. 29 with a 7:30 p.m. game at Fairmont State.
GAME NOTES
X It was a rare home loss for the Battlers, who came into the game sporting a 105-16 (.868) home record during Coach Greg Zimmerman's 11-year run
X The 79 points are West Liberty's lowest point total in a win since a 79-66 win against Alderson-Broaddus in an NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional game on March 13, 2010
X The Hilltoppers' six 3-pointers was their fewest from behind the arc since hitting just 5-of-22 long-range shots in a 105-64 rout of A-B on Nov. 23, 2010
X Harris's 26-point night was his West Liberty high. The sophomore guard scored 30 points in a WVIAC Tournament game as a freshman at Wheeling Jesuit in 2009
