WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – Bryce Butler slammed home a dunk off the opening tipoff and No. 14-ranked West Liberty never looked back here Saturday in rolling to a 100-69 victory against Davis & Elkins inside the ASRC.
    Coach Ben Howlett's Hilltoppers (7-1, 3-1) never trailed on Saturday, leading the Senators (2-5, 1-3) by as many as 21 points in the first half before settling for a 46-27 advantage at intermission.
    West Liberty's pressing defense forced the visitors into 14 first-half turnovers while keeping the pressure on at the opposite end of the floor, shooting better than 50 percent from the field despite going just 1-of-9 from behind the 3-point arc.
    "I thought our defense got a little sloppy at times in the first half," Howlett said, "but we were able to create some easy opportunities in transition that helped us make up for not really shooting it that well from deep. We cleaned things up defensively a little bit in the second half and that enabled us to break it open."
    Already leading by 19 points, the Black and Gold shifted into another gear when play resumed. West Liberty scored 21 of the first 26 points in the second half during a 7-minute blitz.
    When Malik McKinney capped that extended surge with a knifing layup down the lane, the Hilltoppers had their biggest lead of the day, 67-35, with 13 minutes still to play and the only issue remaining was the final score.
    The 3-point shooting never did come around as WLU finished the afternoon just 5-of-19 (26 percent) from behind the arc. Nevertheless, West Liberty shot better than 50 percent from the floor for the fourth time this season, knocking down 39 shots on 70 attempts (56 percent).
    Butler led the way with his second double-double of the season, pouring in a career-high 23 points to go along with a career record-tying 10 rebounds while passing out 4 assists and collecting 3 steals in just 26 minutes of playing time.
    Pat Robinson III added 17 points and 3 steals and Ben Sarson contributed a dozen points and 4 assists. Zach Rasile came off the bench to drain a pair of 3-pointers and stuff the stat sheet with 4 assists, 3 steals and a blocked shot.
    Breland Walton had a game-high 27 points and 12 rebounds for Davis & Elkins while Sam Rolle IV added 26 points and 7 assists as they combined for 53 of the Senators' 69 points.
    Saturday's win sets up an early-season showdown between MEC rivals Charleston and West Liberty. The Golden Eagles (7-1, 3-0) opened some eyes when they routed No. 9-ranked Fairmont State, 87-70, earlier this week and are the only remaining MEC team without a conference loss.
    "We'll enjoy this win tonight," Howlett said, "but we know we've got a big game coming up on Wednesday. We've got a tough task ahead of us preparing for a very good Charleston team. We will have to play some very good basketball to come away with a win."
    Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday inside the ASRC.