Men's Basketball | 1/16/2017 9:56:00 PM

Box Score WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – No. 4 West Liberty jetted out to a 23-point halftime lead and never took its foot off the gas Monday night in racing away to a 125-73 blowout win against Concord before a large crowd at the ASRC.
   Coach Jim Crutchfield's Hilltoppers (15-1, 9-1) spotted the Mountain Lions (5-11, 1-9) an early 7-2 lead but reeled off 11 straight points over the next 2 ½ minutes and were never challenged the rest of the way.
   West Liberty held a 60-37 lead at halftime and opened the second half on a 15-4 run to put the game well out of reach, 75-41, with 17:33still to play.
   Shooting better than 50 percent from the floor for the third straight game, the Hilltoppers led by as many as 53 points in the waning seconds in coasting to their eighth straight win.
   "I thought we ran some really good offense tonight," Crutchfield said. "We passed the ball exceptionally well, which got us a ton of good looks, and we also created some scoring opportunities with our defense. All in all it was another good team win. We got everybody involved, not just scoring but helping out with good pressure."
   All 11 Hilltoppers played at least 13 minutes and scored six or more points with five West Liberty players in double figures.
   Eric Meininger came off the bench to lead the way with 19 points and 6 rebounds while Devin Hoehn and Brandon Smith added 17 and 16 points, respectively. 
   True freshman Clay Guillozet, who missed most of the first semester due to injury, continued his strong play with 15 points and 7 rebounds – 5 off the offensive glass – while James Griffin rounded out the double-figure scorers with 14 points.
   Aaron Miller led Concord with 15 points while Tommy Bolte and Cam Shannon finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
   The convincing win served as a tuneup for Thursday's Top 10 showdown against No. 6-ranked Wheeling Jesuit.
   "It's a big mistake to look ahead in this league," Crutchfield said. "The teams are all too dangerous. That's why I really appreciate the guys coming out and taking care of business the way they did tonight. They know what's next but they stayed focused on the task at hand. 
   "Now we can look ahead and start preparing for a really good Wheeling Jesuit team coming in here. I think we're starting to play a little better but we know we'll need to play very, very well to come away with a win on Thursday."
   Tipoff for Thursday's game against the Cardinals is set for 7:30 p.m