URBANA, Ohio – The No. 8-ranked West Liberty University men's basketball team never trailed here Wednesday night in easing to a 91-78 victory against Urbana at the Grimes Center.
    It was the 14th win in the last 15 games for Coach Ben Howlett's Hilltoppers (14-2, 10-1), who completed a sweep of their season series against the Blue Knights (5-10, 3-8) with another convincing win. The Black and Gold had rolled to a 97-73 decision in the first meeting on Nov. 28 at the ASRC.
    Eric Meininger had a huge night for the Black and Gold, pumping in 21 of his career-high 26 points after intermission. The Hilltoppers' lone senior starter was a blistering 8-of-9 from the floor and 8-of-9 from the charity stripe on the night while also knocking down both of his 3-point attempts.
    While West Liberty led virtually wire-to-wire and maintained a double-digit lead for most of the second half, Urbana was able to keep things close for the first 20 minutes.
    Meininger finished off an assist from Luke Dyer to give WLU its largest lead of the opening half, 37-28, with just under 3 minutes left in the period and the Hilltoppers settled for a 41-35 advantage at the break.
    Meininger picked up where he had left off when play resumed, scoring nine points in the first four minutes of the second half to help West Liberty open up a 52-40 lead and the hosts never threatened again.
    Freshman guard Will Yoakum backed Meininger with 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor and four more Hilltoppers finished with 8 points each in a typically balanced attack.
    Ethan Snapp paced Urbana with 17 points while Jordan Bradley and Malik Jacobs added 15 each in a losing cause.
    West Liberty returns home to host Ohio County rival Wheeling Jesuit on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at the ASRC.