Men's Basketball | 2/16/2017 10:30:00 PM

Box Score WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – Playing without injured leading scorer Dan Monteroso, No. 7-ranked West Liberty didn't miss a beat in racing past West Virginia Wesleyan, 92-69, at the ASRC on Thursday night.
Coach Jim Crutchfield's short-handed Hilltoppers (23-2, 17-2) built a 20-point halftime lead and the Bobcats (12-13, 9-10) never threatened after intermission as West Liberty led by as many as 27 points down the stretch before coasting to the finish line.
"Even though we didn't shoot the ball very well, we created a lot of extra possessions with our pressure and got some easy scores that way," Crutchfield said. "It also kept them from getting comfortable setting up in their offense and with us playing 10 guys, I think it wore them down a little. 
"There were some things we could have done better and I thought we started cruising a little bit once we opened up the big lead in the second half. We need to do a better job of maintaining our focus but the bottom line is Dan couldn't dress tonight and we still won by 25 against a Wesleyan team that's been playing pretty well of late. This was a good team win."
The teams traded baskets for the first few minutes before the Hilltoppers took control.
Freshman Clay Guillozet, who stepped into the starting lineup when Monteroso went down with an injury in practice on Wednesday, provided a spark for what proved to be a decisive early WLU run.
With the Hilltoppers up 16-14, Guillozet came up with a steal on the press and fed Devin Hoehn for a quick jumper with 13:35 on the clock. Following another Bobcat turnover, Guillozet whipped a pass out to Zac Grossenbacher on the perimeter for a 3-point bomb and West Liberty was on its way.
A driving layup by David Dennis capped the 14-0 burst less than three minutes later and the Black and Gold held a commanding 30-14 lead with nearly 11 minutes still to play in the opening half.
Hoehn scored 18 of his team-high 20 points during the first 20 minutes as the Hilltoppers opened up a 55-35 lead at the break. 
"I thought Devin looked awfully good tonight," Crutchfield said. "He hit some big shots for us deep in the shot clock that helped us get a little separation. We've been seeing a little more of that from him the last couple of weeks."
James Griffin backed Hoehn with 19 points and 6 rebounds while Guillozet finished with 10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in his first collegiate start. Grossenbacher added 10 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks while Dennis made a run at a triple-double with a career-high 11 rebounds to go along with 8 assists and 6 points.
Mo Berchie led Wesleyan with 18 points while Jalen Melvin added 12 points and a game-high 15 rebounds off the bench.
The Hilltoppers play their final home game of the season on Saturday when Glenville State comes to the ASRC. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.