Men's Basketball | 11/20/2014 10:58:00 PM

Box Score WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The No. 1-ranked West Liberty University men's basketball team used a pair of lengthy first-half scoring bursts to run away from Salem International en route to a 120-74 blowout win before a large crowd at the ASRC Thursday night.
   Coach Jim Crutchfield's Hilltoppers (3-0) played without injured All-American C.J. Hester but didn't miss a beat in topping the century mark for the third time in as many outings on the young season.
   The Tigers (0-2) took their only lead of the night, 5-4, on a Christopher Miller free throw with 16:37 on the first half clock but that turned out to be the high point of their evening.
   West Liberty's Devin Hoehn hit a pair of 3-pointers to fuel a 12-0 spurt, capping it with a breakaway layup off a steal for a 20-5 Hilltopper lead with 12:25still to play in the opening half.
   Salem was still within range, trailing 28-14 after a short jumper by Jamal Robinson at the 9:20 mark but that's WLU tightened down the defensive screws.
   The Black and Gold held the Tigers – who ranked No. 3 in the nation in scoring a year ago and were coming off a 104-point performance in their season opener – scoreless for the next 5 minutes while reeling off a staggering 24 unanswered points.
   Seger Bonifant closed out the run with back-to-back 3-point bombs and Brandon Smith capped it with another 3-pointer for a 52-14 West Liberty lead with4:25 still showing on the first-half clock.
   The Hilltoppers coasted into halftime with a 58-24 lead and kept adding to the margin even after Crutchfield cleared his bench in the early minutes of the second half.
   "Holding a team like that to 24 points in the first half is a pretty good feather in our cap," Crutchfield said. "They're a very talented offensive team but I thought we played very well tonight. We did a very good job of limiting them to just one shot early on, were able to get some easy buckets off turnovers and passed the ball really well.
   "We wanted to go out and take care of business early and I think we did that."
   Bonifant continued his amazing start to the season with a game-high 25 points, including a 5-of-7 showing from the 3-point line. The reigning MEC Player of the Week is averaging 29.3 points through his first three games and has drained a sizzling 21-of-29 3-point shots.
   The sharp-shooting junior had plenty of help. Hoehn finished with 21 points and 5 assists while Indiana Faithfull had a huge game with 18 points, 5 assists, 5 steals and 4 rebounds. Zac Grossenbacher came off the bench with 10 points while Lamberti just missed a double-double with 9 points and 9 rebounds in just 21 minutes of action.
   "C.J. hurt his foot in practice (on Wednesday)," Crutchfield said. "Nothing's broken but they did some tests and put him in a boot. He's probably doubtful forSaturday's game against Charleston but it doesn't look like a long-term thing so it's up to the rest of the guys to step up, just like they did tonight."
   Robinson led Salem with 19 points while David Atkinson finished with 17.
   The Hilltoppers open their Mountain East Conference schedule at home on Saturday when they host Charleston at 4 p.m. in a rematch of last year's MEC Tournament championship game, which saw UC pull out a 63-60 upset win.