Men's Basketball | 1/3/2017 11:56:00 PM

Box Score INSTITUTE, W.Va. – Zac Grossenbacher just missed a triple-double and No. 4-ranked West Liberty hit the century mark in holding off West Virginia State, 100-93, Tuesday night at the Walker Convocation Center.
Coach Jim Crutchfield's Hilltoppers (10-1, 4-1) led by as many as 20 points in the second half but had to survive a late 3-point barrage from the upset-minded Yellowjackets (5-6, 2-3).
The visitors appeared to have things well in hand after back-to-back Grossenbacher hoops pushed the count to 92-74 with just 4:33 left in regulation.
The Hilltoppers misfired on their next four possessions and State drained four straight 3-pointers to make things interesting, trimming the deficit to 92-86 as the clock ticked past the 2-minute mark.
After Grossenbacher finished strong at the rim for a 94-86 lead with 1:33 to go, Ernest Jenkins drained the hosts' fifth bonus bomb in a 3-minute span to make it 94-89 with 1:26 remaining.
That was as close as the Yellow Jackets could get as West Liberty hit six free throws in the final 51 seconds to put the game on ice.
Grossenbacher had a huge game with 24 points, 9 rebounds and 8 blocked shots while David Dennis posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists. Dan Monteroso and Devin Hoehn added 18 and 17 points, respectively, while James Griffin came up big off the bench with 16 points.
Brent Bauer led all scorers for West Virginia State with 28 points while Jenkins finished with 18 tallies.
The Hilltoppers return home to host Charleston in a key MEC encounter on Thursday night. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at the ASRC.