RALEIGH, N.C. – The No. 4-ranked West Liberty University men's basketball team completed a scorching run through the MEC/PSAC Challenge here Sunday by racing away to a 132-85 victory against host Shaw (N.C.) at historic C.C. Spaulding Gymnasium.
    Coach Ben Howlett's Hilltoppers (2-0) took control early by reeling off 16 unanswered points in a 3-minute span and were never threatened in posting their second blowout win in as many days.
    The Bears (1-1) kept things close for the first few minutes. An Imani Miller jumper pulled the hosts within a single point, 11-10, at 14:15 of the opening half but Shaw missed its next six shots and West Liberty took full advantage.
    A 3-point bomb from Pat Robinson III ignited the surge as the clock ticked past the 14-minute mark and when Dalton Bolon bookended the WLU blitz with a 3-pointer of his own at 10:58, the Hilltoppers had opened up a 27-10 advantage and were well on their way.
    Will Yoakum capped the first half with a rim-rattling dunk for a 69-36 West Liberty lead at intermission and the Black and Gold hit the century mark, 100-61, on another Robinson bonus bomb with more than 12 minutes remaining in regulation.
    No Hilltopper starter played more than 18 minutes but the margin never dropped below 40 points over the final 10 minutes of the game.
    West Liberty shot nearly 60 percent from the floor (51-of-87) and went 16-of-34 (47 percent) from the 3-point arc and dominated the glass at both ends with a 53-29 rebounding advantage.
    Every Hilltopper in uniform hit the scoring column for the second straight game with six players reaching double figures.
    Robinson, a sophomore transfer from Holy Family (Pa.), came off the bench to score a team-high 22 points in just 23 minutes of action. Bolon hit 4 3-pointers and finished with 20 points while Marlon Moore Jr. went 7-for-8 from the floor – 3-for-3 from the 3-point arc – to add 18 points.
    Preston Boswell and Yoakum donated 15 and 14 points, respectively, while Malik McKinney, a sophomore transfer from Seton Hill (Pa.) contributed a dozen points and 5 assists. Boswell's 15 points put him over the 1,000-point mark for his career. The New Martinsville, W.Va. native played his first two seasons at Wheeling.
    Shaw got a game-high 25 points from Dhashon Dashon to pace four double-figure scorers.
    The Hilltoppers will be idle this week but hit the road again on Saturday for a Top 25 showdown at No. 22-ranked Daemen (N.Y.). Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at the Wildcats' Lumsden Gymnasium in Amherst, N.Y.