BRISTOL, Tenn. – The No. 18-ranked West Liberty University men's basketball team roared out of the gates with a 19-2 burst and was never challenged here Tuesday night in blasting perennial NCAA Division II Southeast Region power King (Tenn.) by a 116-95 count at the Student Resource Center.
    Coach Ben Howlett's Hilltoppers (8-2) were in control from the opening tip against the host Tornado (7-3), who have advanced to postseason play in 8 of the last 12 years and rode a 3-game winning streak into Wednesday's game.
    King struggled against West Liberty's full-court pressure from the start and the Black and Gold took full advantage, forcing several turnovers and hitting their first seven shots from the floor to open up a 19-2 lead before the first four minutes had ticked off the scoreboard clock.
    Sophomore guard Dalton Bolon fueled that early surge, scoring 12 of those 19 points on 4-for-4 shooting from the floor – including 3-of-3 from the 3-point arc – and the Hilltoppers never took their foot off the gas.
    The margin reached 25 points, 35-10, at the 11:22 mark on a reverse layup by Nate Allen off another King turnover and West Liberty cruised into halftime with a 62-43 advantage.
    The second half was more of the same as WLU continued to pull away. The Hilltoppers led by as many as 37 points midway through the half before Howlett cleared his bench. King scored 15 of the last 19 points to make the final margin more respectable.
    West Liberty – which ranks among the Top 10 nationally in field goal percentage and 3-point percentage – blistered the twine at a season-high 61 percent clip on the night, knocking down 43-of-70 shots from the floor and going 15-for-27 (56 percent) on its 3-point attempts.
    Bolon led all scorers with a game-high 30 points, highlighted by a 7-of-12 showing from the 3-point arc. Freshmen Will Yoakum and Yahel Hill added 19 and 18 points, respectively, while senior Eric Meininger finished with 10 points despite battling foul trouble throughout.
    Kalen Clifton had a career-high 29 points to pace four double-figure scorers for the Tornado.
    The Hilltoppers return to action on Dec. 30 when they host Tiffin (Ohio) in a non-conference game. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. at the ASRC.