Men's Basketball | 11/20/2017 9:47:00 PM

Box Score

    WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The unbeaten and No. 17-ranked West Liberty University men's basketball team blew past the century mark for the fifth time in as many outings here Monday with a 111-81 blowout of West Virginia Wesleyan at the ASRC.
    Coach Ben Howlett's Hilltoppers (5-0, 2-0) used a strong finish to the first half to put the game out of reach for the outmanned Bobcats (0-4, 0-2), who kept things interesting for much of the initial 20 minutes before the Black and Gold hit its stride.
    Wesleyan trailed just 39-33 with 4:29 left in the first half when an Eric Meininger 3-pointer from the top of the key seemed to light the fuse on the most prolific scoring offense in the NCAA Division II ranks.
    The hot-shooting hosts went on to knock down five more 3-pointers over the final four minutes of the half, fueling a 24-5 spurt that sent them trotting into the locker room with an insurmountable 63-38 lead.
    When the halftime numbers were tallied up, West Liberty had shot a blistering 61 percent from the floor with 22 assists on 23 field goals. Thirteen of WLU's 23 first-half baskets came from behind the 3-point arc.
    The Hilltoppers continued to shoot and share the ball well throughout the second half, pushing the lead as high as 37 points on multiple occasions in coasting to their fifth straight win.
    Evan French came off the bench to hit 7-of-10 3-pointers for a game- and career-high 21 points. Meininger added 16 points and 6 assists while All-American Dan Monteroso finished with 12 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
    Dalton Bolon, James Griffin and Brandon Smith rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points each as West Liberty charted a season-high 34 assists - one of the top five single-game totals in the nation thus far - to go along with 22 3-point field goals.
    Nick Brooks led West Virginia Wesleyan with 21 points while Fred Brondsted and Luke Layhew added 15 and 12 points, respectively.
    The Hilltoppers will be idle over the Thanksgiving break before returning to action on Nov. 29 with a 7:30 p.m. game at Urbana.