INSTITUTE, W.Va. – Devin Hoehn drained eight 3-pointers and No. 8 West Liberty led wire-to-wire in breezing past West Virginia State, 97-79, Saturday afternoon at the Walker Center.

Coach Jim Crutchfield's Hilltoppers (18-2, 12-2) knocked down a dozen bonus bombs in the first half to take a 51-38 lead into the locker room at the break.

West Liberty scored the first nine points of the second half to go up, 60-38, but the scrappy Yellow Jackets (5-14, 3-11) didn't go away quietly.

Trailing 62-40 with just under 18 minutes showing on the second half clock, State took off on an 18-2 run that pulled the hosts within six points, 64-58, with 13:15 still to play.

That was as close as the Yellow Jackets could come as Hoehn dropped in a 3-pointer to stop the bleeding and Zac Grossenbacher added a free throw to restore the double-digit margin, 68-58, with 11 minutes left.

West Liberty went on to lead by as many as 23 points in the waning minutes to wrap up its 11th consecutive victory against West Virginia State.

Hoehn's eight 3-pointers were a Hilltopper season-high, pushing him over 200 for his career and helping him to game scoring honors with 28 points. Seger Bonifant added 16 points and tied a career-high with 6 assists while Mike Lamberti hit double-figures again with 14 points.

Grossenbacher and freshman guard David Dennis just missed double-doubles. The 6-8 Grossenbacher finished with 10 points and 8 rebounds while Dennis had 9 points to go along with a game-high 7 assists.

Frank Webb's 24 points paced four double-figure scorers for the Yellow Jackets. Cody Morris had 11 points and 13 rebounds in a losing cause.

West Liberty hits the road again on Thursday for a much-anticipated Top 10 showdown at No. 2-ranked Fairmont State. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Joe Retton Arena.