Men's Basketball | 1/9/2014 10:14:00 PM
Box Score SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – The unbeaten and No. 1-ranked West Liberty University men's team turned what was supposed to be a showdown between the Mountain East Conference's top two teams into a beatdown before a stunned crowd Thursday night at Shepherd's Butcher Center. Coach Jim Crutchfield's Hilltoppers (11-0, 7-0) opened the second half with a 14-3 run in the first 2 1/2 minutes and never looked back in racing away to a 120-89 rout of the second-place Rams (10-3, 5-2).
Shepherd, which had been receiving votes in the NCAA Division II Top 25 until being upset at Notre Dame (OH) on Saturday, traded leads with the Black and Gold during the early going as the Hilltoppers came out cold.
West Liberty leads the nation in scoring and 3-point field goals but came up empty on its first 10 3-point shots and didn't make one from behind the arc until Seger Bonifant drained one at the 7:31 mark of the opening half to break the ice and put WLU on top by a 26-24 count.
The Hilltoppers never trailed again.
A Morgan McDonald basket for Shepherd forged the game's final tie, 26-26, at the 7:19 mark but that was it for the hosts.
West Liberty went ahead to stay on a quick jumper by Kelvin Goodwin at 7:03 and the Hilltopper press forced back-to-back turnovers to set up consecutive 3-point bombs by Bonifant and freshman Devin Hoehn in an 18-second span.
That put West Liberty comfortably ahead, 34-26, with 6:21 on the first half clock and the Hilltoppers carried a 46-39 advantage into the locker room at intermission.
West Liberty rediscovered its perimeter touch during the halftime break and turned the Butcher Center into a shooting gallery for the final 20 minutes.
The Hilltoppers shot a blistering 60 percent from the floor (25-of-42) in the second half and cashed in at a 70 percent clip (11-of-16) from behind the 3-point arc during that span. West Liberty led by as many as 36 points down the stretch.
Bonifant, the nation's leading 3-point shooter, was 4-for-4 from behind the arc and finished with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Hoehn hit 6 3-pointers in a game for the third time this season for 20 points to share game scoring honors with Bonifant.
The high-scoring duo got plenty of support. Goodwin tossed in 17 points and Keene Cockburn had a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. C.J. Hester also finished with 16 points while going over the 700-rebound mark for his career and Harris checked in with 10 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
Kevin Jones and Marcus Pilgrim paced the Rams with 17 points each.
The Hilltoppers will try to maintain their momentum on Saturday when they travel to West Virginia Wesleyan for a 4 p.m. tipoff.
