West Liberty, W.Va. – Just hours after moving up to No. 2 in the first NABC Coaches' Poll of the regular season, the West Liberty University men's basketball team improved to 11-0 all-time in MEC conference openers as they defeated Notre Dame 109-84. The Hilltoppers broke the game open with a 26-4 scoring run in the first half and cruised to a 25 point victory on Tuesday night, leading by as many as 35 in the second half.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: No. 2 West Liberty 109, Notre Dame 84
Team Records: No. 2 West Liberty 5-0 (1-0 MEC), Notre Dame 2-2 (1-1 MEC)
Attendance: 587
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• With the first three baskets of the game coming from beyond the arc for West Liberty by Christian Montague, Ben Sarson, and Dante Spadafora, the Hilltoppers took a 13-10 lead into the first media timeout with 14:43 left in the opening half.
• Just prior to the first media timeout Alek West made the first layup in what would become a 26-4 scoring run, breaking the game wide open and pushing the lead to 23 points at 37-14 with 8:58 remaining in the half. As a team WLU shot the ball 11-of-14 (78.6%) from the field during the scoring run that spanned 6:11, while they also collected five steals off seven NDC turnovers. Zach Rasile scored eight of 14 points in the game during that stretch.
• A back-and-forth end to the first half saw Notre Dame cut the lead back down to 16 points with 3:35 remaining, however Dante Spadafora knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers off assists from Finley Woodward and Montague to quickly push the lead back to 22 at 46-24 with 1:44 left in the first. Once again, the Falcons cut into the lead to get it down to 17 points with 1:01 left, but the Hilltoppers scored the final four points of the half as Rasile scored a layup and Kyler Daugustino added a pair of free throws with less than a second remaining to give the Black & Gold a 50-29 lead at the break.
• Neither team gained significant momentum in the second half until midway through when a Daugustino 3-pointer with 13:41 left in the game sparked a 13-0 scoring run to extend West Liberty's lead to 32 points with a 79-47 advantage with 12:06 left to play.
• A few minutes later the Hilltoppers once again went on a scoring run to extend the lead, this time a 10-2 scoring run powered by Darren Fergus as he scored seven points in an effort to push the lead to 34 at 93-59 with 7:39 remaining in the game.
• The Black & Gold reached the century mark for the fourth time in five games when Fergus knocked down a 3-pointer with 4:20 left in the game and Chaz Hinds gave West Liberty their largest lead of the game at 108-73, a 35 point advantage with 2:25 to play in regulation.
• Notre Dame ended the game on an 11-1 scoring run.
• West Liberty shot 39-of-80 (48.8%) from the field, 15-36 (41.7%) from 3-point range, and 16-of-22 (72.7%) from the free throw line compared to 31-of-65 (47.7%) from the field, 2-of-16 (12.5%) from 3-point range, and 20-of-24 (83.3%) from the free throw line for Notre Dame.
• The Falcons won the battle on the boards 45-33, however, the Hilltoppers turned 31 NDC turnovers into 45 points. The Black & Gold also held a 50-35 advantage in bench points and assisted on 30 of their 39 made baskets.
• Led by Sarson with a team-high 16 points, a total of seven Hilltoppers scored in double figures on the night.
• West Liberty had nine players knock down a 3-pointer in the win, led by Sarson and Spadafora with three while Rasile and Shuler each hit two.

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
Ben Sarson: 16 points, 3-of-3 3-pointers, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 assist, 1 steal
Zach Rasile: 14 points, 5-of-8 field goals, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist
Finley Woodward: 12 points, 5-of-7 field goals, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
 
HEAD COACH BEN HOWLETT AND BEN SARSON POST GAME INTERVIEW


UP NEXT
West Liberty will next be in action on Wednesday, November 29, when they host West Virginia Wesleyan following the Thanksgiving break. The Hilltoppers and Bobcats are set for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off inside the ASRC.