Men's Basketball | 2/11/2017 6:15:00 PM

Box Score WISE, W.Va. – The No. 2-ranked West Liberty University men's basketball team broke open a close game with a 13-3 spurt at the start of the second half and kept its foot on the gas the rest of the way here Saturdayin an 88-66 rout of UVa-Wise at the Prior Center.
Coach Jim Crutchfield's Hilltoppers (22-2, 16-2) had their hands full in the first half against the Cavaliers (7-17, 5-13), who were gunning for their second straight Top 25 upset after knocking off No. 18 Wheeling Jesuit on Thursday.
The hosts were able to take a 34-31 lead into the locker room at halftime but West Liberty wasted little time taking control when play resumed.
Three straight Hilltopper hoops following a UVa-Wise free throw put the Black and Gold on top, 37-35, less than three minutes into the second half.
A pair of Taiwo Badmus free throws produced the final tie of the game, 37-37, with 17:06 on the clock but Brady Arnold put West Liberty ahead to stay with a 3-point bomb and Tyler Primmer capped the surge with back-to-back layups off Cavalier turnovers for a 44-37 WLU lead as the clock ticked under 16 minutes.
UVa-Wise managed to stay in contact for the new few minutes and were still within range, 61-55, with 9 minutes to play when the Hilltoppers shifted into overdrive.
Devin Hoehn and Clay Guillozet wrapped 3-point bombs around a Dan Monteroso drive to the hoop to ignite an 18-2 West Liberty run that put the game away, 79-56, with 4:19 to go. The Hilltoppers led by as many as 26 points down the stretch.
Monteroso paced four double-figure scorers for West Liberty with a game-high 20 points. Hoehn and Guillozet added 17 and 16 points, respectively, while David Dennis stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and a pair of steals. Badmus led the way for the Cavaliers with 18 points and 7 rebounds.
The Hilltoppers return home to host West Virginia Wesleyan on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at the ASRC.