Men's Basketball | 12/18/2016 6:56:00 PM

Box Score WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The No. 5-ranked West Liberty University men's basketball team opened the second half with a 17-2 burst and kept right on rolling here Sunday in coasting to a 99-82 non-conference win against Clarion (Pa.).
The visiting Golden Eagles (5-5), who rode a 4-game winning streak into the ASRC, kept things close for the first 20 minutes and Coach Jim Crutchfield's Hilltoppers (9-1) had to settle for a 52-47 halftime lead.
It was a different story when play resumed as West Liberty's full-court defensive pressure forced a series of turnovers, fueling a decisive run that turned the 5-point halftime bulge into an insurmountable 20-point margin in less than three minutes.
Brandon Smith opened the second half with a layup at 19:19 and added another hoop just 13 seconds later off a Clarion turnover. After a Golden Eagle miss, Smith fed Dan Monteroso for a 3-pointer and WLU had pushed the lead to 61-47 as the clock ticked past the 18-minute mark.
Clarion's Akeem Williams tried to stop the bleeding with an inside basket but the Hilltoppers were rolling. James Griffin answered with a 3-point bomb and added a layup off a steal. Brady Arnold dropped in a 10-footer off another Golden Eagle turnover before a Griffin free throw made it 69-49 with 16:49 still to play in the second half.
"After giving up 47 points in the first half, that was obviously the focus of discussion in the locker room at halftime," Crutchfield said. "I asked for more energy at that end of the floor and we had better defensive pressure all around. It made a difference."
Clarion never threatened again and West Liberty led by as many as 25 points down the stretch.
Monteroso led all scorers with 22 points and 8 rebounds while Devin Hoehn and Arnold added 16 and 14 points, respectively. Smith rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points while electrifying sophomore point guard David Dennis Jr. stuffed the stat sheet with 8 points, a season-high 10 assists, 6 rebounds and 3 steals. 
"Brandon Smith made several nice plays for us at the start of the second half," Crutchfield said. "He's still getting back physically from his injury but he's a pretty crafty player so we're hoping that progression continues. We got good contributions from a lot of guys today against a pretty good basketball team. This was a nice win."
Jamani Pierce came of f the bench with 17 points to lead the way for Clarion. Manny Powell and B.J. Andrews added 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Sunday's win wrapped up West Liberty's non-conference schedule. The Hilltoppers don't play again until the first week of January and Crutchfield said the time off comes at a good time.
"We were due for a 10-day break," Crutchfield said. "Our guys have worked very hard to get to this point and they understand there's more hard work ahead to get where we want to be.
"We have some guys we need to get back from injury and some others still acclimating themselves to the system so we're still a work in progress. Still, I guess if you're 9-1 and people have you ranked No. 5 in the country, things probably aren't going too bad."