Men's Basketball | 1/11/2014 6:22:00 PM
Box Score BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – The unbeaten and No. 1-ranked West Liberty University men's basketball team shot a blistering 71 percent from the floor in the first half Saturday and cruised to a 108-81 victory at West Virginia Wesleyan.
Coach Jim Crutchfield's Hilltoppers (12-0, 8-0) had their hands full with the scrappy Bobcats (9-6, 4-3) in the early going but the hosts couldn't find a way to counter West Liberty's deadly accuracy from the field.
After trading leads on several occasions in the early going, the Hilltoppers went ahead to stay Shawn Dyer snapped a 30-30 deadlock with a 3-pointer at 7:46 of the opening half.
That touched off a 10-0 West Liberty run and the visitors went on to take a 49-39 lead into the locker room, having canned 22-of-31 shots from the floor.
Wesleyan managed to get the margin into single digits, 60-51, briefly on a Brett Ervin 3-pointer as the clock ticked past the 16-minute mark in the second half but the Hilltoppers quickly slammed the door.
A pair of Seger Bonifant 3-pointers bookended a 12-0 WLU run over the next 90 seconds and the visitors were in complete command, 72-51, with 14:17 remaining. The Bobcats never threatened again and the lead stretched as high as 31 points in the waning minutes.
West Liberty finished the afternoon at 61 percent (41-of-67) from the floor, 52 percent (11-of-21) from the 3-point arc and 94 percent (15-of-16) from the foul line – all season-highs.
C.J. Hester had game-highs of 18 points and 8 rebounds to pace six double-figure scorers for the winners.
Taylor Price and Garrett Grantham had 15 points each to lead Wesleyan, which came into the game having won 7 of its last 9 outings.
West Liberty returns home for its third game in five days on Monday when the Hilltoppers host Glenville State in a 7:30 p.m. tilt at the ASRC.
