WHEELING, W.Va. – No. 13-ranked Wheeling Jesuit exploded for 65 second-half points Thursday night to come from behind and stun No. 1 West Liberty, 106-83, before a standing room only crowd at the McDonough Center.

It was the second consecutive loss for Coach Jim Crutchfield's Hilltoppers (15-2, 9-2), who were coming off a 108-93 setback at Concord on Monday night, while the Cardinals (17-1, 10-1) picked up their 12th straight win to remain in a first-place tie with Fairmont State for first place in the Mountain East Conference standings.

It also marked the second consecutive game that a WLU opponent had poured in more than 60 second-half points to overcome a West Liberty halftime lead. Concord had tallied 66 points after intermission on Monday.

"I know people like to talk about our scoring records," Crutchfield said, "but Rule No. 1 at West Liberty has always been each man playing with an overwhelming desire to keep his opponent from scoring.

"You have to play hard to win and you have to play hard to get stops on defense against a good basketball team. Wheeling Jesuit is a very good basketball team and we didn't bring that intensity – that mindset – to the court with ustonight."

The first half was typical of the intense cross-county rivalry. Neither team led by more than four points at any juncture and there were seven ties and 13 lead changes before West Liberty took a 43-41 lead into the locker room at the break.

The lead swung back and forth again right at the start of the second half but back-to-back 3-pointers from Kyle Ritz and Eric Siefert put Wheeling Jesuit ahead to stay, 51-47, with 17:14 remaining. That blossomed into a 13-2 run capped by a pair of Haywood Highsmith free throws for a 58-50 WJU edge at the 15:40 mark.

West Liberty couldn't string together enough stops to cut into the deficit and when the Hilltoppers hit a cold stretch – going more than five minutes without a field goal – the Cardinals were able to break the game open.

With West Liberty struggling to find the hoop, the Cardinals used a 14-2 run to open up a 20-point lead, 80-60, with 6:44 remaining. 

Mike Lamberti finally knocked the lid off the WLU basket with a layup at the other end but it was too little, too late and Wheeling Jesuit coasted the rest of the way.

Freshman guard David Dennis Jr. had a game-high 24 points for West Liberty while Seger Bonifant and Zac Grossenbacher added 14 points each in a losing cause. 

Highsmith led Wheeling Jesuit with 23 points and 14 rebounds while Ritz (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Pat Moseh (14 points, 10 rebounds) also had double-doubles. Siefert finished with 14 points and a game-high 6 assists.

The Hilltoppers will try to get back on track Saturday afternoon when they host Notre Dame (Ohio). Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. at the ASRC.