West Liberty, W.Va. – The No. 20 West Liberty University men's basketball team shot better than 50 percent from the field for the fourth time in the last six games as they defeated Ohio County rival Wheeling by a score of 123-76 on Sunday evening inside the ASRC. With the offense continuing to fire on all cylinders, the Hilltoppers reached the 120 point mark for the fourth time this season while the nation's leaders in assist unselfishly dished out more than 30 assists for the sixth time this season.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: No. 20 West Liberty 123, Wheeling 76
Team Records: No. 20 West Liberty 15-3 (9-1 MEC), Wheeling 5-12 (2-9 MEC)
Attendance: 1,057
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• West Liberty opened the game on an 8-0 scoring run powered by a pair of 3-pointers from John Korte and Ben Sarson.
• After a 3-pointer by Chaz Hinds gave the Hilltoppers a 14-7 advantage with 16:10 left in the first half, Wheeling began to chip away with a mini 6-2 scoring run to cut the lead to 15-13.
• With a layup with 13:19 left in the opening half, Zach Rasile sparked a 9-0 scoring run that pushed the WLU lead to double digits for the first time as Lanyc Shuler added the layup to make it 27-16.
• The lead continued to grow in the later portions of the first half as Finley Woodward converted an and-one to push the lead to 49-28 with 5:05 remaining till the break, making it six unanswered points for WLU.
• The Cardinals cut the Hilltopper lead back down to 17 points (52-35) with 3:01 left in the first, however West Liberty entered the halftime break on an 11-4 scoring run where a 3-pointer by Alek West and a layup by Woodward put the Black & Gold in front 63-39.
• Wheeling opened the second half with the first two baskets of the half before Christian Montague put West Liberty on the board with a layup.
• Starting with a pair of free throws by Korte, WLU used a 10-2 scoring run capped by a layup by Kyler Daugustino to extend their lead to 81-51 with 12:42 remaining in the game. Wheeling responded with five unanswered points, however, the Hilltoppers answer was a 12-0 scoring run that saw a pair of free throws by Darren Fergus push the lead to 93-56 with 10:15 left in the game.
• It was a 3-pointer by Daugustino that put the Black & Gold over the century mark for the 11^th time this season, making it a 102-69 ball game with 7:21 left in the game.
• The Hilltoppers closed the game on a 28-10 run which saw a pair of 3-pointers by Grant Barnhart, marking his first appearance of the season with multiple baskets from beyond the arc and second of his career as he tied a career-high of six points.
• West Liberty shot 41-of-81 (50.6%) from the field, 12-of-35 (34.3%) from 3-point range, and 29-of-33 (87.9%) from the free throw line compared to 28-of-60 (46.7%) from the field, 7-of-21 (33.3%) from 3-point range, and 13-of-24 (54.2%) from the free throw line for Wheeling.
• The Hilltoppers have shot better than 84 percent in four of their last five games, knocking down 96-of-115 (83.5%) from the charity stripe in those contests.
• For the 14^th time this season, WLU connected on double digit 3-pointers in the game as seven players knocked down a shot from beyond the arc. Sarson led the way with three made shots while Rasile, Korte, and Barnhart each made two.
• West Liberty reached 50 rebounds for just the third time this season as they held a +25 advantage on the glass. They also secured more than 20 offensive rebounds for the third time this season which resulted in 25 second chance points.
• As DII's leader in assists per game this season, the Hilltoppers dished out 30 or more assists for the sixth time this season. Four players notched four or more assists in the game, led by West and Montague with six and five respectively.
• West matched the most steals by a Hilltopper this season with five in the contest while Korte and Woodward added a pair to the team's double digit total.
• WLU held the advantage in points in the paint (56-38), points off turnovers (31-17), second chance points (25-10), fast break points (20-16), and bench points (52-41).
• Korte scored a season-high 21 points in the win to lead six players in double figures scoring for West Liberty.

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
John Korte: 21 points, 9-of-9 free throws, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
Zach Rasile: 15 points, 6-of-10 field goals, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
Ben Sarson: 15 points, 3-of 8 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, 1 steal
Darren Fergus: 14 points, 8-of-8 free throws, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
Finley Woodward: 14 points, 6-of-6 free throws, 6 rebounds, 2 steals
Kyler Daugustino: 13 points, 6-of-7 field goals, 4 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal

POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE (JOHN KORTE, HEAD COACH BEN HOWLETT, AND ALEK WEST):

 
UP NEXT
West Liberty will take to the road for a single mid-week game on Wednesday, January 31, as they close the month at West Virginia State. The Hilltoppers will look to complete the season sweep of the Yellow Jackets as they tip-off at 7:30 p.m. inside the Walker Convocation Center in Institute, West Virginia.