INSTITUTE, W.Va. – The No. 10-ranked West Liberty University men's basketball team battled back from a double-digit deficit in the second half here Monday to pull out an 86-84 road win against upset-minded West Virginia State at the Walker Convocation Center.
    It was the fifth straight win for Coach Ben Howlett's Hilltoppers (9-1, 5-1) but it didn't come easily as the host Yellow Jackets (5-5, 2-3) showed plenty of sting.
    Shooting better than 50 percent from the 3-point arc as West Liberty struggled through some early shooting woes, State took a 46-37 lead into the locker room at halftime.
    The Yellow Jackets picked up where they left off when play resumed, eventually taking their largest lead of the night, 56-42, on a Noah Jordan drive with 16:12 showing on the second half clock.
    That turned out to be the high-water mark for the hosts, however, as the Hilltoppers started stringing together a series of defensive stops at the same time their offense began to click. West Liberty reeled off 21 of the next 30 points with a Bryce Butler 3-pointer capping the surge, forging a 63-63 deadlock with 9:22 to go.
    The Yellow Jackets answered quickly and held onto a slim lead for the next few minutes but the Hilltoppers broke through for good shortly after the under-5 media timeout.
    Pat Robinson banked in a runner with 3:04 to play for a 75-74 WLU lead, its first lead of the second half. A pair of free throws by Jordan briefly put State back on top but Robinson got to the rim again, laying in the go-ahead basket as he was fouled with 2:49 on the clock.
    The junior guard's "and one" free throw spun around and out but freshman Adam Sarson skied high to grab the rebound and lay it back in for a 79-76 Hilltopper lead.
    The Black and Gold never trailed again, going 7-for-8 from the foul line over the final 90 seconds to seal the thrilling comeback victory.
    Butler poured in a career-high 28 points – 18 of them in the second half – and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Hilltopper scoring parade. Robinson added 24 points and was huge down the stretch while Zach Rasile went 4-for-6 from the 3-point arc to add a dozen points.
    Sophomore guard Christian Montague finished with just 5 points but was a defensive demon with a game-high 5 steals and also had 5 rebounds.
    Jordan had a big game in defeat for WVSU with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Glen Abram added 22 points and Anthony Pittman charted 15 points and 8 rebounds.
    West Liberty closes out its pre-holiday schedule on Sunday with a non-conference game against Wilmington (Del.). Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. at the ASRC.