Men's Basketball | 1/5/2017 10:47:00 PM

Box Score WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The No. 4-ranked West Liberty University men's basketball team jumped out to an early double-digit lead and never looked back here Thursday night, racing away to a 94-62 rout of Charleston in a Mountain East Conference test at the ASRC.
Coach Jim Crutchfield's Hilltoppers (11-1, 5-1) scored 11 of the game's first 13 points to force the Golden Eagles (9-3, 3-3) into a timeout less than 2 ½ minutes after the opening tipoff and kept right on rolling.
The lead hit double digits, 19-9, on a David Dennis jumper with 14:16 on the clock and the stingy WLU defense held Charleston to just six points over the next nine minutes to go up 35-18 with just under five minutes left in the opening half.
"I thought our energy level was really good right from the start," Crutchfield said. "The guys were tuned in. They were getting after every loose ball, crashing the boards and the shot selection was very good. We played a very solid basketball game against a really good basketball team."
Devin Hoehn's runner with time running out gave West Liberty a 48-24 halftime lead and the Black and Gold led by as many as 36 points down the stretch while coasting through the second half.
The 62 points were a season-low for a Golden Eagle squad that had been receiving votes in the coaches' Top 25 during the first semester. After being held to 32 percent shooting in the first half, UC finished the night just 21-of-55 (38 percent) from the floor for the game, including a dismal 2-for-12 from behind the 3-point arc, while committing 16 turnovers.
"We've spent the last week or so really working hard on our defense as a team," Crutchfield said, "and I think that's starting to pay off a little bit."
West Liberty featured its usual balanced attack with five double-figure scorers. Dennis led the way with 14 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds and a pair of steals while Dan Monteroso added 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting from the floor and Zac Grossenbacher had another double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
"There were times tonight when it looked like David was playing at a different speed than everybody else," Crutchfield said. "When you play at his pace and end the night with no turnovers, you had a pretty good game."
Griffin had 11 points and 6 rebounds in his first start for WLU while freshman Clay Guillozet added 10 points in his first extended action since missing most of the first semester with a leg injury.
"I think James is getting a little more comfortable with the way we play and that's enabled him to play a little harder, a little faster," Crutchfield said. "That was good to see."
Justin Coleman led Charleston with 16 points while Elliott Cole and Keir Anderson added 14 and 11 points, respectively.
The Hilltoppers hit the road on Sunday afternoon for a 3 p.m. game at Glenville State.