WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – No. 16 West Liberty handed regionally-ranked Fairmont State its worst home loss in more than a decade here Sunday night as WLU clinched its third straight Mountain East Conference championship with a 109-88 runaway win at Joe Retton Arena.
    Coach Ben Howlett's Hilltoppers (22-4, 17-3) opened up a double-digit lead midway through the opening half and the two-time defending MEC champions never took their foot off the gas in rolling to their 16th win in the last 17 games.
    The Falcons (20-6, 14-6), who saw their 6-game winning streak go by the boards in the regionally-televised battle of Atlantic Region powers, kept things close for the first few minutes but it didn't take long for WLU's combination of defensive pressure and blistering shooting to take its toll.
    The Hilltoppers' lead hit double-digits for the first time, 29-19, on a Will Yoakum layup as the first-half clock ticked under 10 minutes and stretched as high as 15 points on multiple occasions before the visitors settled for a 56-42 advantage at the half.
    Fairmont State never got any closer. Following an early WLU burst in the opening minutes of the second half, a Dale Bonner 3-pointer got the margin back down to 12 points, 66-54, with 15:53 to go.
    West Liberty wouldn't be denied. The Black and Gold tightened the defensive screws, holding FSU to just two baskets over the next four minutes. Luke Dyer's 3-pointer closed out a 14-4 run to make it 80-58 with 11:41 to play and the issue had been all but decided.
    Fairmont never threatened again and the Hilltoppers led by as many as 28 points in handing Fairmont State its worst home loss since an 84-56 blowout against Alderson-Broaddus in 2007.
    West Liberty shot better than 60 percent from the floor in each half, finishing the night at 62 percent shooting (43-of-70) with 15 of the baskets coming from 3-point range.
    Yoakum and junior All-American Dalton Bolon proved to be a lethal 1-2 punch for the winners. Bolon poured in a game-high 27 points and tied a season-high with 15 rebounds while the high-flying Yoakum added 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the floor.
    They weren't lacking for support as the Hilltoppers' depth played a major role in the outcome.  Fueled by huge games from Marlon Moore Jr. and Pat Robinson III, West Liberty's bench outscored Fairmont by a whopping 41-6 margin.
    Moore, still working his way back into the rotation after missing more than a month due to injury, had his strongest game of the season with 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting in just 16 minutes of playing time. Robinson contributed his usual stellar floor game as WLU's "sixth man," tossing in 17 points – including a trio of 3-point bombs – to go along with 8 rebounds and 4 assists.
    Dyer finished with 9 points on three 3-pointers while handing out 7 assists and collecting 3 steals.
    Shem Golek did his best to keep the Falcons in the game, scoring a team-high 24 points on 9-of-10 shooting. Bonner added 20 points and 7 assists while Isaiah Sanders and Cole VonHandorf finished with 18 and 17 points, respectively, in a losing cause.
    Now holding a two-game lead over Charleston with just two games remaining in the regular season, West Liberty has clinched its third straight MEC championship and 10th conference crown in the last 11 seasons.
    The Hilltoppers can lock up another outright title with a win at Notre Dame on Wednesday night. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. in South Euclid, Ohio.