CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Unbeaten and No. 1-ranked West Liberty took control with a 12-0 run midway through the first half Wednesday and breezed to a 78-63 victory against Charleston at the Charleston Civic Center Coliseum.

Coach Jim Crutchfield's Hilltoppers (12-0, 6-0) led by as many as 20 points in the first half and had no trouble handling a pair of mild challenges from the Golden Eagles (6-6, 3-3).

Charleston opened the game with a trio of 3-point bombs for an early 9-2 lead but 3-pointers from Zac Grossenbacher and David Dennis quickly got the visitors on the comeback trail.

The Golden Eagles took their last lead of the night, 16-14, on a Damon Stokes-Graham power post with 14:29showing on the first half clock but Dennis knotted the count for the final time, 16-16, by slashing to the hoop for a layup at 14:19.

That touched off one of WLU's familiar scoring surges with Seger Bonifant putting the Black and Gold ahead to stay with a pair of free throws before Devin Hoehn and Grossenbacher drained back-to-back 3-pointers.

Dennis capped the spurt with another drive to the hoop and the Hilltoppers had their first double-digit lead of the night, 26-16, with 11:15 still to play before halftime.

West Liberty carried a 47-29 lead into the locker room at intermission but the Golden Eagles weren't quite finished.

Midway through the second half, Charleston began to heat up from behind the 3-point arc.

Back-to-back bonus bombs from 6-8 senior post Aleksander Kesic trimmed the deficit to single digits, 61-52, at the 8-minute mark and three Travon Williams free throws put UC within striking distance, 63-55, with 6:40 remaining.

Unfortunately for the hosts, they had no answer for Bonifant.

The Hilltoppers' senior All-American and the nation's leading scorer, Bonifant drained another 3-pointer and followed that up with a drive to the basket to provide a little breathing room, 68-55, with 5:31 to play.

With Bonifant providing the spark, West Liberty scored 13 of the next 15 points to put the game on ice, 76-57, with just over a minute to play.

Bonifant led all scorers with 28 points while Grossenbacher had a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Dennis turned in another solid performance with 17 points and 9 boards out of the backcourt.

Tino DiTrapano topped Charleston with 20 points while Kesic finished with 16 in a losing cause.

The Hilltoppers will put their 12-game winning streak on the line Sunday afternoon when they host Glenville State in a 4 p.m. game at the ASRC.