West Liberty, W.Va. – Facing a young Chestnut Hill team, the No. 3 West Liberty University men's basketball team battled for a hard fought 86-58 win on Wednesday night in the ASRC. While the Griffins 23 turnovers only resulted in seven live ball steals, a season-low for the Hilltoppers, the Black & Gold's defense still held their opponent to 31.1 percent from the field and 21.1 percent from 3-point range which were season-lows for an opposing team.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: No. 3 West Liberty 86, Chestnut Hill 58
Team Records: No. 3 West Liberty 3-0, Chestnut Hill 0-3
Attendance: 938
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Chestnut Hill jumped out to an early 9-3 lead to start the game before Chaz Hinds and John Korte kick started a 13-0 scoring run by pouring in five points apiece.
• With the Hilltoppers now out in front, Hinds pushed the lead to double digits (24-12) with 8:53 remaining in the first half as he knocked down a 3-pointer to extend the scoring run to 21-3.
• The Griffins momentarily cut the lead back to single digits at 31-22 with 1:11 remaining in the first, but the Hilltoppers ended the half with by scoring six of the next eight points as Alek West went 4-for-4 at the free throw line and Finley Woodward added a layup to make it a 37-24 ball game.
• West scored the first four points of the second half to get things rolling for the Hilltoppers as the lead grew to 20 points on a layup by Christian Montague with 16:48 remaining in the game.
• Chestnut Hill cut into the deficit with a 6-0 run to bring the score to 46-32, but West Liberty quickly pushed the lead back to 20 again with layups by John Korte, Montague, and West.
• A pair of layups by Lanyc Shuler layups during a 9-2 scoring run helped push the lead to 25 at 63-38 for the Hilltoppers with 10:05 remaining, but the Griffins again had a response to cut the lead back down to 20.
• A 3-pointer by Kyler Daugustino sparked the final scoring run of the game for WLU as Shuler added another two layups and Dante Spadafora connected on a 3-pointer of his own during a 10-3 run, bringing the score to 75-48 with 4:32 left in the game.
• A 3-pointer by Zach Rasile gave the Black & Gold their largest lead of the game at 28 with 1:36 remaining, and Daugustino added a pair of jumpers to maintain the 28 point advantage following CHC free throws in the final two minutes.
• West Liberty shot 30-of-72 (41.7%) from the field, 9-of-33 (27.3%) from 3-point range, and 17-of-20 (85.0%) from the free throw line compared to 19-of-61 (31.1%) from the field, 4-of-19 (21.1%) from 3-point range, and 16-of-21 (76.2%) from the free throw line for Chestnut Hill.
• The Hilltoppers won the battle on the boards 44-41 and converted 23 CHC turnovers into 21 points. The Black & Gold also held a 47-18 advantage in bench points and assisted on 22 of their 30 made baskets.
• Led by Montague with a team-high 13 points, five Hilltoppers scored in double figures on the night.
• West Liberty had six players knock down a 3-pointer in the win, led by Hinds, Korte, and Montague with two each.

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
Christian Montague: 13 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds
John Korte: 12 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks
Finley Woodward: 12 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block
Alek West: 12 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block
 
HEAD COACH BEN HOWLETT AND CHRISTIAN MONTAGUE POST GAME INTERVIEW


UP NEXT
West Liberty will face their first road test of the season on Saturday afternoon as they travel to face Salem. The Hilltoppers and Tigers are set for a 4 p.m. tip-off inside the T. Edward Davis Gymnasium in Salem, West Virginia.