INDIANA, Pa. – Mercyhurst opened the second half on a 12-0 run and No. 9-ranked West Liberty couldn't make enough shots to claw its way back as WLU came up short, 82-70, in the Tuesday's NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Tournament championship game at the Kovalchick Center.
    Coach Ben Howlett's Hilltoppers (28-5) were held to their lowest shooting percentage in three years by he defensive-minded Lakers (26-7), who came into the game ranked No. 2 in the nation in scoring defense at just 60.6 ppg. and more than lived up to that billing.
    West Liberty's 35 percent shooting (25-of-71) was its worst since shooting just 34 percent (30-of-87) in the 92-90 overtime loss to Concord in the 2016 MEC Tournament championship game.
    "Our whole emphasis in preparation was based on trying to figure out how to score against their defense," Howlett said. "That's a really good basketball team and easily the best defense we've faced all season. I'm proud of the way my guys battled but you're not going to win very many games shooting 35 percent from the floor – especially in the Sweet 16."
    Momentum swung back and forth through a first half featuring six ties and three lead changes but a strong finish by the Hilltoppers sent WLU into the locker room with a 39-38 lead.
    Trailing 36-31 as the clock ticked under two minutes, Dalton Bolon rained in a 3-point bomb and Marlon Moore scored off a turnover to knot the score at 36-36. Moore put West Liberty up, 39-36, with a conventional 3-point play at the 1:10 mark before the Lakers' Patrick Smith closed out the half with two free throws.
    Smith, the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, was a force on both ends of the court throughout the evening. The 6-5, 240-pound senior powered in 16 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and blocked 5 shots in a dominating performance.
    "Give Patrick Smith credit," WLU senior Eric Meininger said. "He's a heck of a rebounder with his size and strength. He really makes their team go."
    Mercyhurst grabbed the momentum at the start of the second half and never relinquished it the rest of the way. West Liberty missed its first eight shots when play resumed, opening the door for a 12-0 Laker run that put them up, 50-39, at the under-16 media timeout.
    The Hilltoppers got a basket from Meininger and a 3-pointer from Yahel Hill to make it 50-44 but another cold stretch enabled Mercyhurst to open up its largest lead of the night, 65-60, on a runout layup by Jason Massey as the clock ticked under 11 minutes.
    "Give them credit," Howlett said. "They took us out of our game with their defense. We were getting some easy baskets in the first half but they took those away in the second half and we got frustrated. We started doing too much 1-on-1 and that's not who we are."
    West Liberty battled to the end, getting the lead down to eight points on several occasions, but couldn't string enough stops and baskets together to get over the hump as the Lakers closed things out at the charity stripe.
    Moore took game scoring honors for West Liberty with 16 points off the bench while Yoakum finished with 13 and Hill and Bolon added a dozen each.
    Nelson Maxwell matched Smith's 16 points to pace five double-figure scorers for Mercyhurst, which went 23-for-29 from the foul line and powered its way to a 47-35 rebounding advantage.
    "I'm the worst loser in the world," Howlett said. "Tonight really hurts but the reason it hurts so bad is that this is the last time I get to coach five very special seniors. Eric, Brady (Arnold), Evan (French) and Tyler (Primmer) have been here all five years and Nate (Allen) got here last year and fit in immediately.
    "When I walk into the locker room and see these five guys, they are West Liberty basketball to me, and it hurts that we don't get to do this together anymore.
    With the win, Mercyhurst advances to the first NCAA Division II Elite Eight in school history. The tournament will be played March 27-30 in Evansville, Ind. It was a trip Howlett and his players were hoping to make.
    "This loss stings pretty bad right now," Howlett said, "but I'm excited about next year. We started two freshmen and two sophomores all year, we've got an All-Conference guard sitting out a redshirt season and some really good recruits coming in. We'll be back."
    Meininger, Bolon and Yoakum were named to the Atlantic Region All-Tournament Team with Mercyhurst's Jason Massey joining Smith on the post-tourney honor roll.