WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – Frostburg State scored the first two points but unbeaten and No. 4-ranked West Liberty reeled off the next 19 points in a 3-minute blitz and kept right on rolling to a 134-72 blowout victory Saturday afternoon inside the ASRC.
    It was the fourth double-digit win in as many outings for Coach Ben Howlett's high-flying Hilltoppers (4-0) as they moved to 9-0 all-time against the visiting Bobcats (1-2).
    A Dalton Bolon jumper forged the only tie of the game, 2-2, as the clock ticked past the 19-minute mark but the scoring pace picked up precipitously the rest of the way – at least on WLU's side of the scoreboard.
    Marlon Moore Jr. splashed home a pair of free throws to cap the Hilltoppers' blurry-fast 19-0 run with 15:48 still to play in the first half. The Black and Gold had opened up a 43-14 bulge by the 10-minute mark and cruised into halftime with an insurmountable 79-36 advantage.
    "I thought we came out and played high-level basketball right from the jump," Howlett said. "This is the best we've played all season long.
    "The first 10 minutes was great. We were sharing the basketball, passing at a high level, finding the open man. When our guys get their feet set and they're open, they're usually going to make the shot and that's exactly what happened."
    The tempo eased a bit over the final 20 minutes but West Liberty hit the century mark with 12:29 left – a Will Yoakum 3-pointer pushed the margin to 102-52 – and the Hilltoppers breezed the rest of the way.
    It was a masterful performance at both ends of the floor. West Liberty shot a blistering 58 percent (45-78) from the floor, 44 percent (14-32) from the 3-point arc and 91 percent (30-33) from the foul line.
    In addition, the Hilltoppers had a 54-37 edge off the glass, forced 25 turnovers and came away with 13 steals while holding the visitors to just 33 percent shooting (23-69) from the floor – including just 3-of-21 from the 3-point arc.
    Pat Robinson III led seven double-figure scorers for the hosts with a season-high 26 points, including a 4-for-4 showing from the 3-point arc. Yoakum knocked down 23 points while Bolon checked off a few boxes with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists.
    Bryce Butler weighed in with 16 points and 8 rebounds while Malik McKinney and Zach Rasile each finished with a dozen tallies. Owen Hazelbaker hit double-figures again with 11 points.
    Senior point guard Luke Dyer – who led the nation in Assist/Turnover Ratio a year ago – had a season-high 8 assists to match against zero turnovers as the well-oiled WLU scoring machine was charted with a season-high 31 assists on 45 field goals.
    Agyei Edwards' 18 points paced three double-figure scorers for the Bobcats.
    Now averaging a nation's best 112.8 ppg., the Hilltoppers will make their longest road trip of the season on Wednesday when they head south to Concord. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. in Athens, W.Va.