WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The No. 9-ranked West Liberty University men's basketball team spoiled a late Concord rally here Saturday by pulling out a 109-108 double-overtime win in a Mountain East Conference thriller at the ASRC.
Coach
Ben Howlett's surging Hilltoppers (13-2, 9-1) maintained their share of first place in the MEC with their 13
th win in the last 14 games while the high-powered Mountain Lions (10-5, 6-4) lost for just the third time in their last 11 outings.
"That was a really good game between two really good NCAA Division II basketball teams," Howlett said. "We have to do a better job of finishing games when we have the lead at the end but I think we got better today. A lot of our key guys have never played in a game like that so this was a great learning experience going forward."
The game was tight throughout with neither team leading by more than six points until the waning minutes of regulation when West Liberty appeared to be taking control.
Dalton Bolon knocked down a huge 3-pointer and followed that up with a pair of free throws to give WLU its biggest lead of the game, 78-69, with just 3:41 left in regulation.
That's when Concord senior Tommy Bolte shifted into high gear. The 2017-18 NCAA Division II scoring champion pumped in 16 of the Mountain Lions' last 19 points in regulation – capped by a buzzer-beating drive to the hoop to force the game into overtime.
After being held to just 12 points through the game's first 36 ½ minutes, Bolte – who played all 50 minutes – exploded for 29 of his game-high 41 points in the final 3 ½ minutes of regulation and the two overtime periods.
"He's one of the best, if not the best, players in the country," Howlett said. "For him to do what he did tonight while playing all 50 minutes is just incredible."
A
Tyler Primmer 3-pointer and a
Yahel Hill free throw put WLU up, 97-94 with time running out in the first overtime period only to see Concord's Brandon Kennedy drain a 3-pointer from the corner with just 8 seconds left to force a second overtime frame.
The lead changed hands four times in the final two minutes of the second overtime but two free throws by Hill put West Liberty on top, 109-108, with 52 seconds remaining.
An exchange of turnovers gave the ball back to the visitors with 25 seconds left. Bolte dribbled the clock down into the single digits looking for an opening but Bolon knocked a pass out of bounds, stopping the clock with 4 seconds left.
Jair Rodgers took the in-bounds pass and forced up a hotly-contested 12-footer from the left wing. The ball bounced twice on the rim before falling off as the buzzer sounded.
"We double-teamed Bolte on the in-bounds to keep him from getting the ball," Howlett said. "We were able to force them into a tough shot but from our end of the court it looked like it was going in. What a basketball game."
Bolon had a double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Hilltoppers while
Eric Meininger – WLU's lone senior starter – added 16 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks and a steal while playing 48 of 50 minutes.
"Eric was unbelievable tonight," Howlett said. "For him to play 48 minutes working as hard as he does on the boards every night is just incredible."
Meininger said the best part about the win was the way the young team refused to fold.
"I am so proud of these guys," Meininger said. "I told them after (Concord) tied it up at the end that the toughest team wins in overtime. I thought our young guys did a great job of pushing through the adversity to come away with a really big win."
Hill added 19 points and 4 assists while fellow freshman
Will Yoakum added 17 points and 6 rebounds. Senior
Tyler Primmer came up big off the bench with 14 points and 6 rebounds while fellow senior
Brady Arnold added 10 points in a season-high 31 minutes.
Bolte finished with 41 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals. David Mulumba added 21 points while Rodgers and Malik Johnson finished with 15 and 11 points, respectively.
West Liberty returns to action on Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. game at Urbana.
