Salem, W.Va. – Facing their first game away from the ASRC this season, the No. 3 West Liberty University men's basketball team received another strong challenge in the opening half before surging ahead in the final 20 minutes to defeat Salem, 111-82. Saturday afternoon marked the second time in the past three games in which the Hilltoppers led by single digits at halftime, but they responded by scoring their most second half points this season as they put up 62 points to seal a 4-0 start to the year.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: No. 3 West Liberty 111, Salem 82
Team Records: No. 3 West Liberty 4-0, Salem 1-3
Attendance: 214
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After a back-and-forth start to the game, West Liberty got things rolling with a 3-pointer by Christian Montague as he sparked an 11-2 scoring run to go up 15-6 where Ben Sarson and Kyler Daugustino also hit shots from deep.
• Back-to-back baskets by Finley Woodward gave the Hilltoppers their first double digit lead of the game at 22-12 with 14:28 remaining in the opening half, however ten points would be the most that WLU would lead by in the first half as Salem remained within striking distance. The Black & Gold also held a ten point lead at 26-16 following a layup by John Korte with 11:55 left in the half.
• The Tigers used a 12-2 scoring run to take their only lead of the game at 37-36 with 5:15 left in the first, however the Hilltoppers regrouped during the under five media timeout and regained the lead for good with a layup by Zach Rasile with 3:32 left till the break. The lead momentarily grew back to five points, but Salem's Ian Hardy added a layup with three seconds left to cut to make it a 49-46 ball game entering the locker rooms.
•  Salem's first basket of the second half cut the lead to one, but back-to-back layups by Korte off assists by Montague started to get the West Liberty offense rolling again.
• A layup by Lanyc Shuler gave the Hilltoppers their first double digit lead of the second half at 63-52 with 15:30 remaining, and the lead continued to grow as a layup by Sarson capped the Black & Gold's 36-10 run out of the halftime break to open up an 85-56 lead with 11:15 left in game.
• The Tigers cut the lead back down to as low as 21 points with a 13-4 scoring run bringing it to 90-69 with 7:20 left in the game after a layup by Brandon Francois for Salem. The Tigers had the scoring margin down to 21 on two more occasions, but the Hilltoppers then used a 10-0 run with 3-pointers by Korte and Chaz Hinds to claim their largest lead of the game of 31 points prior to Salem ending the game with a layup to bring the final score to 111-82.
• West Liberty shot 36-of-68 (52.9%) from the field, 13-of-34 (38.2%) from 3-point range, and 26-of-35 (74.3%) from the free throw line compared to 29-of-63 (46.0%) from the field, 4-of-13 (30.8%) from 3-point range, and 20-of-29 (69.0%) from the free throw line for Salem.
• The Tigers won the battle on the boards 47-31, however, the Hilltoppers turned 25 Salem turnovers into 36 points. The Black & Gold also held a 49-7 advantage in bench points and assisted on 21 of their 36 made baskets.
• Led by Korte with a team-high 16 points, six Hilltoppers scored in double figures on the night.
• West Liberty had eight players knock down a 3-pointer in the win, led by Hinds with three while Montague, Rasile, and Spadafora each hit two.

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
John Korte: 16 points, 5-of-6 field goals, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block
Dante Spadafora: 15 points, 9-of-9 free throws, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals
Zach Rasile: 14 points, 2 3-pointers, 3 rebounds, 1 steal
Chaz Hinds: 14 points, 3 3-pointers, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
 
UP NEXT
West Liberty will play their first Mountain East Conference game of the season next Tuesday before going on Thanksgiving break. The Hilltoppers will welcome Notre Dame into the ASRC and are set for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off with the Falcons.