Men's Basketball | 2/10/2018 6:17:00 PM

Box Score     CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The No. 5-ranked West Liberty University men's basketball team dominated the second half here Saturday in pulling away to an 87-65 victory at the University of Charleston's Wehrle Center.
    Coach Ben Howlett's Hilltoppers (22-1, 17-1) got it done on defense against the Golden Eagles (13-11, 9-9), holding the hosts to just five field goals in the first 17 minutes of the second half as Howlett tied a 66-year-old school record for wins by a first-year head coach.
    The former WLU standout became the first Black and Gold court boss to win 22 games in his debut season at the helm since Dick Wehr's 1951-52 Hilltoppers posted a 22-6 mark during their run to an NAIA national tournament appearance in Kansas City.
    Charleston was able to keep things interesting for the first 20 minutes, running the shot clock and extending possessions to limit West Liberty's offensive opportunities.
    Leading just 39-38 at intermission, the visitors returned to the court with renewed defensive intensity and began to pull away.
    West Liberty outscored UC by a 15-3 margin over the first seven minutes of the second half to open up a 54-42 lead but the Hilltoppers still hadn't been able to push the pace of the game into their comfort zone.
    Charleston was able to trim the margin to 60-54 on a Lamont McManus basket as the clock ticked under 8 minutes – just the hosts' fourth field goal of the second half – but that's when the floodgates finally opened.
    Jordan Watson came off the bench to hit a long jumper and followed that up with a 3-pointer before Dan Monteroso twisted his way down the lane for a layup and a 69-54 Hilltopper advantage.
    That spurt ignited a patented WLU "blackout" run over the next 5 minutes which eventually stretched to 22-2 when two Luke Dyer free throws gave West Liberty its largest lead, 82-56, with 3:23 on the clock.
    Ke'Andre Gibson ended the run with a putback at 3:05 but it was far too little and far too late for the Golden Eagles.
    Monteroso poured in 20 points and dished out 6 assists – both game-highs – while also contributing 5 rebounds and 3 steals to the cause. Dalton Bolon was WLU's only other double-figure scorer with 19 points, including four more 3-pointers for Coach Howlett's MEC front-runners.
    Shaq Speights had 16 points and 8 rebounds for UC and Gibson added 10 points.
    West Liberty will be back in action on Thursday with a 7:30 p.m. tipoff against West Virginia Wesleyan in Buckhannon.