WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The No. 2-ranked West Liberty University men's basketball team breezed to a 94-80 victory against fellow Atlantic Region power West Chester (Pa.) here Saturday night in the final game of the MEC/PSAC Conference Challenge at the ASRC.
    "We needed this one," Hilltopper head coach Ben Howlett said. "This was a really good win for us now and I believe it will be a really good win to have on our resume in March. The coaches picked West Chester as the favorite in their conference and you can see why. That's a very good basketball team that is going to win a lot of games."
    Coming off Friday's disappointing upset loss to Kutztown (Pa.), Howlett's youthful West Liberty squad was in control throughout against the taller, more experienced Golden Rams (0-2) on Saturday.
    The Hilltoppers opened the game with back-to-back 3-pointers from Luke Dyer and Dalton Bolon and never took their foot off the gas.
    West Chester struggled against WLU's relentless full-court pressure and the hosts pushed the lead out to double-figures, 23-11, on a Brady Arnold 3-pointer just past the midway point of the first half.
    The margin hit 17 points, 38-21, on a Marlon Moore jumper with 5:21 on the clock but a late surge allowed the Golden Rams to trim the deficit under double-figures, 41-32, at the half.
    West Chester was still within striking range, 53-44, five minutes into the second half when the Hilltoppers broke the game open with one of their familiar scoring blitzes.
    Senior guard Tyler Primmer came off the bench to knock down three consecutive 3-point bombs in a 44-second span, all on assists from fellow senior guard Brady Arnold, doubling the lead to 62-44 with 14:21 remaining.
    The deficit reached 20 points a few minutes later and West Chester never challenged again.
    "I challenged some guys in the shootaround today and Tyler was one of the guys I challenged," Howlett said. "Even though he didn't have his best game yesterday, I told him we needed him today and he stepped up to the plate and hit a home run. That was a big moment in the game and I couldn't be happier for him."
    Bolon had another strong night with 26 points and 7 rebounds – both team-highs – but the sophomore standout had plenty of support. Arnold and Moore joined Bolon in double figures with 10 points each while Primmer, Yahel Hill, Will Yoakum and Luke Dyer all finished with 9 points.
    "The difference tonight was I just think we got after it a little more than we did yesterday," Bolon said. "We didn't press very well last night but we got a lot more out of it tonight. This was a really good win."
    West Chester got a game-high 27 points from Jackson Hyland with Malik Jackson adding 20.
    The Hilltoppers shot nearly 60 percent from the floor in the second half and hit 53 percent (32-of-60) for the game. West Liberty also had a 36-31 advantage off the glass and forced 22 turnovers.
    "I know (West Virginia) Wesleyan beat West Chester playing zone last night and people were asking me if we were going to go zone against them," Howlett said. "That never crossed my mind. We're not a zone team, we're a pressing team and I'm proud of the way my guys responded.
    "Primmer gave us a huge lift. I thought Hill, Dyer and Yoakum had quality games. This wasn't just a good win because of who we beat. It was a good win because we had so many guys contribute to it. This was a good team win – and that's West Liberty basketball."
    The Hilltoppers will be back in action on Wednesday when they host Salem in a 7:30 p.m. game at the ASRC.