WHEELING, W.Va. – Will Yoakum scored a game-high 24 points and No. 7 West Liberty led by as many as 22 points down the stretch in coasting to a 96-85 win at Wheeling Jesuit on Saturday.
    It was the 16th win in the last 17 outings for Coach Ben Howlett's two-time defending Mountain East Conference champion Hilltoppers (24-3, 20-2), who will be the No. 1 seed in next week's MEC Tournament at WesBanco Arena.
    It was also the 50th win in 57 games at the helm for the second-year head man, making him the fastest coach to the 50-win plateau in school history. His predecessor, Jim Crutchfield, held the previous mark with 50 wins in 70 games.
    "(Wheeling) Jesuit (8-20, 7-14) is a much better team now than when we played earlier in the season and it shows," Howlett said. They had won six of their last eight and I thought they played well today. This was a really good win for us but we had to work for it."
    The lead switched hands several times in the first half before a late 14-3 West Liberty burst created a little separation. The Hilltoppers settled for a 43-37 halftime edge and never trailed again.
    The Cardinals never stopped battling but West Liberty shot nearly 60 percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes and continued to pull away. The lead hit 22 points on several occasions before Howlett cleared his bench. Jesuit scored 13 of the last 15 points to make the final margin a bit more respectable.
    No Hilltopper played more than 23 minutes as Howlett substituted liberally throughout the game. Yoakum's 24 points – which included a rim-rocking tomahawk dunk that brought the crowd to its feet – came in just 22 minutes of action.
    Eric Meininger added 15 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists while Marlon Moore Jr. and Brady Arnold added 13 and 11 points, respectively, off the bench. Sophomore guard Dalton Bolon scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half.
    "There was a span in the second half where we played really well," Howlett said. "We were creating turnovers with our pressure, sharing the basketball and scoring at a really high rate. I'm proud of my guys. I think we played a pretty good basketball game tonight."
    Wheeling Jesuit got 20 points and 11 rebounds from Tariq Woody and Emmanuel Ansong also had a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards. Franck Kamgain added 16 points while DeAndre Robinson and Steve Cannady finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
    Howlett and his team are looking forward to next week's MEC Tournament but the coach said the break – his team won't play until Friday night – comes at a good time.
    "Wheeling's going to be a great venue and we can't wait to get there," Howlett said. "With it being so close, I think our fans will come out in droves and it will be a great atmosphere.
    "The bye gives us a pretty nice break. We can rest the guys for a couple of days and give them a chance to let the bruises and cuts heal a bit. Then we can get back on the court and get ready to come down to Wheeling on Friday and start putting some wins together."
    The Hilltoppers will take on the winner of Wednesday's first-round game between West Virginia Wesleyan and Wheeling Jesuit in Friday's 6 p.m. quarterfinal.