SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 6-ranked West Liberty University men's basketball team drained 17 3-pointers here Saturday afternoon and rolled past Shepherd, 111-99, at the Butcher Center for its 20th win of the season.

The Hilltoppers (20-2, 14-2) never trailed after intermission and used a 12-2 blitz midway through the second half to open up a double-digit lead against the upset-minded Rams (11-11, 6-10).

With WLU clinging to a 79-75 lead at the 9:46 mark, Seger Bonifant hit a pair of free throws and drained a quick 3-pointer after freshman guard David Dennis Jr. swiped the in-bounds pass.

Winston Burgess answered inside for the hosts, trimming the gap to 84-77 with 9:12 on the clock but Dennis wasn't finished.

The freshman point guard fed Zac Grossenbacher for a layup and then came up with another steal. Dennis hit Grossenbacher in stride and Grossenbacher was fouled as he hit the transition layup.

The conventional 3-point play pushed the West Liberty lead to 89-77 with 8:35 to go and Shepherd never threatened again.

Grossenbacher topped the Hilltoppers with a career-high 26 points to go along with 8 rebounds while Bonifant finished with 25 points and a career-high 8 assists.

Dennis came within a whisker of a triple-double with 15 points, a career-high 14 rebounds and 9 assists. Brady Arnold and Devin Hoehn rounded out WLU's double-figure scorers with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

The Rams, who nearly matched West Liberty with 16 3-pointers, got a game-high 29 points from Ryan McTavish and 24 more from Skyler Roman as the duo went a combined 12-for-18 from behind the 3-point arc. Naim Muhammad had 17 points and a game-high 10 assists in a losing cause.

The Hilltoppers return to action on Thursday when they host Concord in a 7:30 p.m. game at the ASRC.

GAME NOTES

x This was West Liberty's 20th straight victory against Shepherd, improving Crutchfield's mark to 20-1 against the Eastern Panhandle squad

x It also marked the 12th consecutive 20-win season under Crutchfield, who ranks No. 1 in the history of NCAA men's basketball in career winning percentage (320-55, .853)

x Dennis broke Dan Binggeli's freshman school single-season record for assists (125). He now has 129 on the season

x The Hilltoppers have a 107-1 record when shooting 50 percent or better from the floor over the past five seasons, including an 11-0 mark this year

x West Liberty has won 83 consecutive games when scoring 100 or more points over that same span