Men's Basketball | 11/10/2017 10:02:00 PM

Box Score

    WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The debut of the Ben Howlett Era was a smashing success here Friday night as Howlett's No. 17-ranked West Liberty University basketball team tied a long-standing NCAA Division II record in a 139-63 blowout of Cheyney (Pa.) in the first game of the MEC/PSAC Crossover event at the ASRC.
    The Hilltoppers became only the third team in NCAA Division II history to have 10 players make a 3-point shot during a game. The feat was first accomplished by Troy in a game against DeVry (Ga.) on Jan. 12, 1992 and equaled by Central Oklahoma against East Central (Okla.) on Feb. 11, 2009.
    "I was actually a little surprised," Howlett said. "We hadn't practiced very well the past couple of days but we came out with great energy tonight and really set the tone from the start. The game was basically over in the first five minutes and it was exactly what I wanted to see.
    "We shot the ball well but a lot of our offense was triggered by our defense. I know we made 24 3-pointers but the best stat to me was 33 assists on 47 baskets. We shared the ball really well and when we do that, we're usually pretty successful."
    Howlett, a former Hilltopper standout and veteran assistant coach, admitted to being a little nervous in his first head coaching assignment but said the butterflies didn't last very long.
    "I'm a pacer," Howlett said with a smile. "Two hours before the game I was pacing back and forth in my office looking at the clock but once the game started that all went away."
    Howlett's players wasted little time helping ease their coach's mind as West Liberty's patented full-court pressure defense and 3-point accuracy were on full display from the opening tap.
    The Hilltoppers forced numerous turnovers and James Griffin drained a trio of 3-pointers as WLU bolted out to a 13-2 lead before three minutes had ticked off the clock. The margin hit 20-4 by the first media timeout and the Black and Gold had opened up a 30-point lead – 42-12 – by the 10-minute mark.
    West Liberty trotted into the locker room with an 82-31 lead and coasted through the second half.
    Although no WLU player saw more than 20 minutes of court time, every Hilltopper scored at least 7 points and eight West Liberty players reached double figures.
    Griffin finished with a game-high 18 points but had plenty of company. Redshirt freshman Dalton Bolon added 17 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists with Eric Meininger adding 16 points, Evan French tossing in 14 and returning All-American Dan Monteroso knocking down a dozen.
    Brandon Smith and Tyler Primmer chipped in with 11 points each and Jordan Watson tallied 10 points in his Hilltopper debut. Another redshirt freshman, Luke Dyer, stuffed the stat sheet with 7 points, 7 rebounds and a game-high 7 assists while true freshman Marlon Moore Jr. nearly charted a double-double with 7 points and 9 rebounds.
    The Wolves, who committed a staggering 36 turnovers, got 15 points from Zahir Stewart and a dozen more from Imir Bailey.
    "There's a little bit of a difference between Coach Howlett and (former) Coach (Jim) Crutchfield," Monteroso said. "Coach Crutchfield was usually pretty calm on the sidelines but Coach Howlett's a fiery guy and I really like that. I can't wait to get back out there again tomorrow."
    The Hilltoppers close out the tournament on Saturday with a 6 p.m. game against Seton Hill (Pa.).     In the second game, the Griffins dominated the final three minutes after the Golden Eagles had rallied to forge a 69-69 tie.
    Trevor Blondin poured in a game-high 26 points for Seton Hill, which got 13 points from Nathan Davis and 11 more from Fernando Salamendi.
    Austin Howard's 23 points paced four double-figure scorers for Charleston, which will open Saturday's doubleheader with a  4 p.m. tipoff against Cheyney (Pa.).