Fairmont, W.Va. – The No. 25 West Liberty University men's basketball team went on the road and earned a hard fought 101-84 victory over Fairmont State on Saturday afternoon. The Hilltoppers built leads of 20+ points in both the first and second halves only to have the Falcons trim the lead down to single digits on both occasions, before the Black & Gold ended the game on a 16-8 run to secure the victory.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: No. 25 West Liberty 101, Fairmont State 84
Team Records: No. 25 West Liberty 11-3 (6-1 MEC), Fairmont State 10-4 (4-4 MEC)
Attendance: 1,230
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After Fairmont State tied the game at 7-7 following a 3-pointer by Cameron Whiteside, West Liberty used a 12-0 scoring run sparked by a Chaz Hinds 3-pointer to take a 19-7 lead into the media timeout with 14:42 to play in the half.
• The Falcons clawed back within single digits at 19-11, however an Alek West 3-pointer sparked an 8-0 scoring run that pushed the lead to 27-11 and forced the second FSU timeout of the game with 11:11 remaining in the first.
• WLU saw their lead grow to 20 points (37-17) with 7:50 left on the clock after Zach Rasile knocked down a 3-pointer off an assist from West, but FSU responded with a 12-2 scoring run of their own to cut the lead to ten and forced West Liberty to call their first timeout of the game with 5:49 remaining till the break.
• Fairmont State used their momentum late in the first half to get as close as one point (42-41) with two minutes remaining, however West Liberty maintained the lead and took a 49-45 advantage into halftime.
• Just as in the first half, Kyler Daugustino opened the scoring in the second and helped spark a 7-2 scoring run as a pair of John Korte free throws pushed the lead back to double digits (56-46) with 18:40 remaining in the game.
• As Fairmont State fought to keep within single digits, the Hilltoppers broke the game open once again as an 11-0 scoring run with 3-pointers by Hinds and West gave WLU their largest lead of the game (72-51) with 15:50 to play.
• The Falcons managed to trim the Hilltopper lead back down to single digits with a 13-2 scoring run making it an 81-73 game with 7:33 left in the contest. However, the Black & Gold quickly had a response to push their lead back to double digits with Rasile and Korte each knocking down a pair of free throws back-to-back.
• West Liberty ended the game by outscoring Fairmont State 16-8 and reached the century mark for the eighth time this season with a layup by Korte with 45 seconds remaining.
• West Liberty shot 34-of-67 (50.7%) from the field, 14-of-29 (48.3%) from 3-point range, and 19-of-21 (90.5%) from the free throw line compared to 28-of-72 (38.9%) from the field, 12-of-37 (32.4%) from 3-point range, and 16-of-20 (80.0%) from the free throw line for Fairmont State.
• The Hilltoppers recorded season-high shooting percentages for 3-pointers (48.3%) and free throws (90.5%).
• WLU saw seven players knock down a shot from beyond the arc, led by Hinds and Sarson who both shot 4-of-4 on the night. They are the first duo to be perfect from beyond the arc on a minimum of four attempts each in the same game this season.
• With a season-high of ten rebounds to go along with his 11 points, Ben Sarson notched his first career double-double and the first of the season by a Hilltopper.
• West Liberty held an advantage in points in the paint (36-28) and bench points (59-13), while Fairmont State had the edge in second chance points (14-12). The teams were even in points off turnovers (19-19) and fast break points (24-24).
• Two games removed from scoring his 1,000^th career point (3 years at Ohio Dominican and 2 years at West Liberty), West scored a WLU career-high of 25 points to lead six players in double figures scoring. He scored a career-high of 28 points while at ODU on February 9, 2022, at Salem.

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
Alek West: 25 points, 4-of-4 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
Chaz Hinds: 14 points, 4-of-4 3-pointers, 6 assists, 3 rebounds
Zach Rasile: 12 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal
Ben Sarson: 11 points, 4-of-4 free throws, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals
John Korte: 11 points, 6-of-6 free throws, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
 
UP NEXT
West Liberty will play their second consecutive game away from home when they travel to (RV) Concord on Wednesday evening. The Hilltoppers and Mountain Lions are set for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off inside the Carter Center in Athens, West Virginia.