ATHENS, W.Va. – The No. 5-ranked West Liberty University men's basketball team won its 12th straight here Saturday afternoon, fending off a late rally by a hot-shooting Concord squad in a 110-106 shootout at the Carter Center.
    The win completed a season sweep for Coach Ben Howlett's high-powered Hilltoppers (19-2, 15-1), who had outlasted the Mountain Lions (14-8, 9-7) in a double-overtime thriller last month at the ASRC.
    Concord shot a blistering 60 percent (38-of-63) from the floor, drained 19-of-23 free throws and knocked down 11 3-pointers but the streaking Hilltoppers were able to weather the storm.
    That's because the Black and Gold was every bit as hot from the floor, hitting 59 percent (37-of-63) from the floor fueled by a season-best 68 percent (15-of-22) from the 3-point arc while connecting on 21-of-26 from the charity stripe.
    West Liberty raced out to a 61-52 halftime lead and built several double-digit leads over the final 20 minutes but Concord was able to shoot its way back into the contest every time.
    After trailing by as many as 15 points in the second half, the Mountain Lions managed to put together one last surge to make things interesting in the final minute.
    Trey Brisco's short jumper with 44 seconds left cut the WLU lead to 105-102, bringing the Carter Center crowd to life.
    Those hopes proved short-lived, however, as the Hilltoppers calmly ran the shot clock down into single digits before Dalton Bolon drained a dagger of a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left to all but put the game on ice, 108-102.
    Tommy Bolte hit two free throws with 10 seconds to go, cutting the lead to 108-104, but Bolon was fouled on the in-bounds and sank both free throws to close out the win.
    Bolon, the reigning MEC Player of the Week, led West Liberty with 24 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists while going 10-for-12 from the foul line. Freshman guard Yahel Hill was a perfect 5-for-5 from the 3-point arc and finished with 21 points while fellow freshman guard Will Yoakum added 19 tallies.             Senior guard Brady Arnold added 10 points off the bench to round out the double-figure scorers as WLU finished with a 38-14 edge in bench points. The Hilltoppers also racked up a 37-20 advantage off the glass, leading to a 23-6 margin in second-chance points.
    Bolte led all scorers with 39 points and 6 assists while Jair Rodgers added 20 points and Malik Johnson weighed in with 15.
    West Liberty will be back on the MEC road Thursday night with a 7:30 p.m. game at West Virginia State.