Men's Basketball | 2/21/2018 9:22:00 PM

Box Score

    SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – The No. 5-ranked West Liberty University men's basketball team led wire-to-wire here Wednesday in hammering Notre Dame, 112-68, before a sizable contingent of WLU supporters who made the trip up to Murphy Gym.
    Coach Ben Howlett's high-flying Hilltoppers (25-1, 20-1) – who are ranked No. 1 in the Atlantic Region and have already clinched another MEC title – roared out to a huge lead midway through the first half and coasted home against the injury-riddled Falcons (5-22, 3-18).
    West Liberty hit seven 3-pointers in the first nine minutes while opening up a 33-15 lead and kept right on rolling, carrying a 57-39 advantage into intermission.
    Eric Meininger opened the second half with a 3-pointer – the Hilltoppers hit 17 of them on the night –  and the rout was on. Despite liberal substitutions throughout the final 20 minutes, West Liberty continued to pad its advantage and led by as many as 46 points down the stretch.
    Dalton Bolon led all scorers for West Liberty with 23 points – including five 3-pointers – in just 21 minutes of court time. Dan Monteroso just missed a double-double with 17 points and 9 rebounds while Jordan Watson and James Griffin added 14 points each. Evan French chipped in with a dozen points off the bench and Marlon Moore Jr. rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points.
    Angelo Cugini and Drew Scarberry led Notre Dame with 15 and 14 points, respectively.
    West Liberty closes out the regular season at home on Saturday with a Top 25 showdown against No. 25-ranked Ohio County rival Wheeling Jesuit. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. at the ASRC.