Daytona Beach, Fla. – The No. 6 West Liberty University men's basketball team suffered their second setback of the season on Sunday afternoon, falling to (RV) Dominican (N.Y.) 112-101 in each team's first contest of the Daytona Beach Shootout. Dominican shot a blistering 69.2 percent (9-of-13) from beyond the arc in the opening half en route to a 19 point halftime advantage, which included closing the half on a 22-5 scoring run. With the Hilltoppers facing their largest deficit of the season, they got within striking distance early in the second half thanks to a 9-2 run of their own but were never able to get closer than seven points in the final two minutes of the game.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: No. 6 West Liberty 101, (RV) Dominican (N.Y.) 112
Team Records: No. 6 West Liberty 8-2 (4-1 MEC), (RV) Dominican (N.Y.) 8-1 (1-1 CACC)
Attendance: 225
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first four points of the game for West Liberty came from the charity stripe as Zach Rasile and John Korte each connected on a pair before Korte made a layup for the Hilltoppers first field goal to go up 6-3 with 18:03 left in the first half.
• A 3-pointer by Dante Spadafora gave West Liberty their largest lead of the game at 21-13, capping a 13-3 scoring run with 12:51 to play in the opening half.
• A layup by Ben Sarson once again pushed the lead back to eight points at 25-17, however, Dominican connected on three consecutive shots from beyond the arc to take a 26-25 lead with 10:17 to play in the first after a 9-0 scoring run.
• The teams continued to go back-and-forth a majority of the first 20 minutes but following a free throw by Lanyc Shuler to cut the deficit to two points at 42-40, the Chargers ended the half on a 22-5 scoring run to take a 64-45 lead into the break. The 19 point deficit was the largest of the season for the Hilltoppers.
• West Liberty opened the second half on a 9-2 scoring run with 3-pointers by Rasile, Kyler Daugustino, and Christian Montague to cut the deficit to 66-54 with 18:01 to play in the game.
• The Hilltoppers were within ten points on three different occasions before a basket from beyond the arc by Rasile brought them within single digits (83-74) with 11:34 to play.
• The Chargers continuously had a response to every comeback attempt for WLU, extending the lead back to as many as 12 points before one final push from the Black & Gold. West Liberty was as close as seven points on two occasions in the closing minutes following a 3-pointer from Spadafora and jumper from Alek West. The Hilltoppers had an opportunity to draw within five points with less than 30 seconds to play, however the Chargers iced the game away with 4-of-4 shooting from the free throw line.
• West Liberty shot 32-of-68 (47.1%) from the field, 9-of-28 (32.1%) from 3-point range, and 28-of-37 (75.7%) from the free throw line compared to 35-of-78 (44.9%) from the field, 11-of-19 (57.9%) from 3-point range, and 31-of-43 (72.1%) from the free throw line for Dominican.
• The Hilltoppers made a season-high 28 free throws in the contest, marking the fourth time this season they have made 20 or more in a game, while on the other hand WLU's nine made 3-pointers tied a season low and was the third time this season they did not reach double digit 3-pointers.
• The Chargers won the turnover battle, forcing 21 Hilltopper turnovers while only committing 16 of their own (a season-low for turnovers forced by WLU). This resulted in a 23-18 advantage in points off turnovers for Dominican.
• Sarson led four players in double figures scoring with 17 points while Spadafora added 14 points, Chaz Hinds and Montague scored 13 and 11 points respectively.
• WLU had five players knock down a shot from beyond the arc, led by Spadafora with three while Rasile and Montague each connected on two.

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
Ben Sarson: 17 points, 4-of-4 free throws, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
Dante Spadafora: 14 points, 3-of-5 3-pointers, 1 rebound, 1 assist
Chaz Hinds: 13 points, 7-of-8 free throws, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Christian Montague: 11 points, 2-of-4 3-pointers, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals
 
UP NEXT
West Liberty will conclude their stay at the Daytona Beach Shootout tomorrow afternoon when they face No. 20 Angelo State. The Hilltoppers and Rams are set for a 1 p.m. tip-off in the Ocean Hill Center in Daytona Beach, Florida.