INSTITUTE, W.Va. – Dalton Bolon blew past the 1,000-point milestone with career-highs of 39 points and 9 3-pointers Thursday night as No. 2 West Liberty blasted West Virginia State, 131-100, at the Walker Center.
    Coach Ben Howlett's Hilltoppers (20-2, 16-1) hit their first six shots from the floor and were never challenged in handing the Yellow Jackets (12-11, 9-8) their first home loss since Dec. 6. The win gave West Liberty its 15th consecutive 20-win season while stretching its current winning streak to 13 games.
    A 6-4 sophomore from Gnadenhutten, Ohio, Bolon became the 50th 1,000-point scorer in Hilltopper history at the 16:03 mark of the second half when he buried his eighth bonus bomb of the night off an assist from Luke Dyer. He added a pair of free throws and one final 3-pointer before sitting out the remainder of the second half.
    It was the third time in the last four games that Bolon had topped the 30-point mark, putting him at 505 points on the season and 1,005 points for his career.
    Bolon scored 25 of his 39 points in the first half and West Liberty led by as many as 19 points before State tallied nine of the last 10 points to pull within, 61-50, at intermission.
    The lead hit 21 points for the first time on Bolon's 1,000th point less than four minutes into the second half and the Hilltoppers went on to lead by as many as 35 points down the stretch.
    Will Yoakum backed Bolon with 22 points while Ariel Watson came off the bench at the end to score 11 points in the final seven minutes. Senior Evan French also contributed 10 points in a reserve role. Eric Meininger made a run at his second triple-double of the season with 10 assists, 9 points and 8 rebounds before sitting out much of the second half.
    West Liberty cooled off a bit in the second half but still shot 53 percent (49-of-92) from the floor and 56 percent (19-of-34) from the 3-point arc
    Gus Stone topped WVSU with 25 points while Glen Abram added 17 and Pat Johnson-Agwu had a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
    The Hilltoppers return home to host the University of Charleston on Saturday. Tipoff for the Senior Day matchup is set for 4 p.m. at the ASRC.