Men's Basketball | 2/3/2018 5:40:00 PM

Box Score

    WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The No. 5-ranked West Liberty University men's basketball team pulled away down the stretch here Saturday, clinching its 14^th straight 20-win season with a 105-92 victory against Concord before a full house at the ASRC.
    Coach Ben Howlett's Hilltoppers (20-1, 15-1) survived an early barrage from the Mountain Lions (11-11, 7-9) before closing the game on a 19-7 spurt to lock up their 45^th consecutive home win.
    "Winning games is hard," Howlett said, "and winning 20 games is incredibly hard. There are so many good coaches out there watching film, trying to figure out ways to beat you. To do that 14 years in a row is truly something special. We've been blessed with a lot of great players here and every one of them has a part of that."
    West Liberty had to battle through some adversity to extend those streaks on Saturday with several Hilltoppers battling some combination of illness or injury.
    "We just need a couple of days to get away from basketball, to get away from each other," Howlett said. "I had four or five guys battling flu-like symptoms overnight, a few other guys trying to play through injuries and a couple with both. I'm pretty proud of the way we gutted this one out."
    West Liberty struggled to find the range early, shooting just 40 percent from the floor in the first half as Concord took a 46-45 lead into the locker room. The Hilltoppers found the range after intermission but the scrappy Mountain Lions hung tough as the teams battled through 10 ties and 18 lead changes.
    The Black and Gold took the lead for good, 74-73, on a pair of Luke Dyer free throws with 9:39 remaining but struggled to get separation from the visitors for the next few minutes.
    With WLU clinging to an 86-85 lead as the clock ticked down to the 5-minute mark, All-American Dan Monteroso stepped into the spotlight.
    The senior southpaw splashed home his only 3-point shot of the night and then found Jordan Watson for another bonus bomb. Concord's Tommy Bolte hit a free throw but Monteroso streaked back downcourt and hit Dalton Bolon for a dagger of a 3-pointer as the clock hit four minutes.
    That put West Liberty on top, 95-86, and the Mountain Lions never threatened again.
    Monteroso finished with 15 points while adding 13 rebounds and 6 assists – both game-highs.
    "Dan always has great numbers but the best part of his game is his leadership," Howlett said. "After I said my piece at halftime, Dan did most of the talking. He leads by example but he also leads by inspiration. If he train is getting a little bit off the track, he puts it right back. He's truly one of kind."
    Bolon finished with six 3-pointers and a team-high 25 points while Eric Meininger added 18 points. Watson added 17 points off the bench – highlighted by a 5-for-8 showing from the 3-point arc – while Dyer had a career-high 11 points and Brandon Smith rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10.
    Concord got a game-high 27 points from B.J. Hamlet with Bolte and Trey Brisco adding 19 each.
    "I thought our point guards really played well tonight," Howlett said. "That might be the best game Luke has played since he got here and Jordan was huge for us today. It was good to see him get a little bit of that swagger back."
    West Liberty returns to action on Thursday when the Hilltoppers host West Virginia State. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at the ASRC.