Men's Basketball | 11/9/2013 10:19:00 PM
Box Score
WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The No. 3-ranked West Liberty University men's basketball team got the 2013-14 season off to a flying start Saturday night with a 107-60 blowout win against Washington Adventist (Md.) at the ASRC.
The game followed a pattern that has grown quite familiar for Hilltopper fans in recent years as West Liberty's high-pressure defense shocked the Shock (2-1) into a series of turnovers that fed into a WLU offensive explosion.
The Hilltoppers were up 16-6 just four minutes into the game and had pushed the lead past 20 points, 33-12, before the 10-minute mark of the opening half. Substituting freely throughout, West Liberty built a 63-28 halftime lead and then opened the second half by wrapping a pair of transition baskets around a Seger Bonifant 3-pointer for the largest lead of the night, 70-28, before coasting home.
Coming off three straight 30-win seasons and NCAA Division II Elite Eight runs, head coach Jim Crutchfield has some holes to fill this year with the graduation losses of National Player of the Year Alex Falk along with 1,000-point scorers Chris Morrow and Tim Hausfeld. There will be tougher tests down the road but the Hilltoppers passed their first one with flying colors.
"The system worked," Crutchfield said. "It's the same system we've run for the last 10 years. We had different people in different places tonight than we've had the past couple of seasons but it's the same philosophy, the same style.
"To be fair to Washington Adventist, I think they have a really nice team but they probably don't see that kind of pressure in their league, especially this early in the season. At halftime I think I saw where they had 3 assists and 23 turnovers. Our 5-man defensive pressure was pretty good tonight. It was probably the key to the game."
It certainly was a team effort for the hosts. All 11 players who dressed for the Hilltoppers scored with seven of them – including all five starters – hitting double-figures. Every player pulled at least one rebound, nine players had at least one assist, nine players finished with at least one steal and no player played more than 24 minutes.
The Shock, which finished with 26 field goals and 31 turnovers, were led by Martin Wilson and Elliot Meredith with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
"This was a good way to start the season," Crutchfield said with a smile. "Everybody played, everybody scored. It was a good team win. That's the way we like it."
West Liberty returns to action on Friday when they fly south to visit Sunshine State power Nova Southeastern. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
