WHEELING, W.Va. – The No 5-ranked West Liberty University men's basketball team raced out to a double-digit halftime lead and led by as many as 37 points down the stretch in pummeling Wheeling Jesuit, 100-79, here Friday night in a Mountain East Tournament quarterfinal at WesBanco Arena.
    Coach Ben Howlett's top-seeded Hilltoppers (25-3) advance to take on No. 5 seed Concord (20-9) in Saturday's 6 p.m. semifinal. The Mountain Lions upended No. 4 seed Charleston, 74-62, in their quarterfinal matchup.
    "I think we came out a little nervous in the first 10 minutes," Howlett said, "but then we started playing West Liberty basketball. We were forcing turnovers with our pressure, flying around on defense, making shots and moving the ball.
    "I'm really proud of the guys for coming out and getting a big win but there's not a lot of time to celebrate. We have to come right back here tomorrow night and take on a really good basketball team that is playing outstanding right now."
    The teams traded leads several times in the opening half with the Cardinals using a 10-1 spurt to open up a brief 19-13 lead as the clock ticked under 11 minutes. That's about the time the Hilltoppers' pressure began to take its toll and the Black and Gold started to hit its stride.
    A Steve Cannady layup gave WJU its final lead of the night, 25-24, at the 6:32 mark and West Liberty closed out the half on a 19-4 run to take a 43-29 lead into the locker room.
    "I had told Yahel Hill at shootaround this morning that I thought he was going to have a really big game tonight," Howlett said. "He hadn't scored at halftime so we ran a set for him to start the second half. It seemed like once he saw the ball go through the hoop, he had his swagger back."
    Hill, one of two freshman guards in the Hilltoppers' starting lineup, helped West Liberty break the game open by pouring in all 18 of his points – including 4 3-pointers – in the first 11 minutes of the second half.
    "I hadn't been shooting that well but Coach says good shooters have to have short memories," Hill said. "If you're a good shooter, the shots are going to start falling as long as you're getting good looks."
    The Hilltoppers kept their foot on the gas and hit their largest lead of the night, 87-50, on a run-out dunk by senior wing Tyler Primmer. Howlett cleared his bench shortly after that with an eye toward keeping fresh legs for the rest of the tournament. No WLU player saw more than 24 minutes of action.
    Hill was West Liberty's leading scorer with 18 points while MEC Freshman of the Year Will Yoakum – the Black and Gold's other freshman starter – notched his first career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Eric Meininger added 14 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals in 21 minutes while Primmer contributed 10 points in a solid performance off the bench.
    Franck Kamgain took game scoring honors with 35 points for Wheeling Jesuit, which shot a blistering 62 percent from the floor in the second half only to be outscored, 57-50, over the final 20 minutes.
    "This was a phenomenal atmosphere tonight," Howlett said. "When our fans pack in here the way they do, (WesBanco Arena) really lends itself to a big-game feel but it didn't surprise me a bit. West Liberty has the best fans in the Mountain East and they prove it every time we step on the floor."
    No. 2 seed Fairmont State (22-7) and No. 3 seed Notre Dame (21-8) will meet in Saturday's 8:15 p.m. semifinal. The MEC Tournament championship game tips off Sunday at 4 p.m.