Glenville, W.Va. – Neither team held a lead of more than nine points on the night as the No. 20 West Liberty University men's basketball team edged Glenville State in a 77-73 win to escape the upset bid in the Waco Center. The Hilltoppers found themselves down by nine early in the first half, but it wasn't until Chaz Hinds and Dante Spadafora combined to knock down four straight 3-pointers when the momentum began to turn their direction. WLU was able to extend their lead to as many as eight in the second half, however GSU didn't go down without a fight as they battled back to momentarily retake the lead, but West Liberty fended off the late charge to win their fifth straight game as the regular season winds down.

QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: No. 20 West Liberty 77, Glenville State 73
Team Records: No. 20 West Liberty 20-5 (14-3 MEC), Glenville State 12-13 (7-10 MEC)
Attendance: 300
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Glenville State reached the first media timeout of the game with a 15-8 lead with 14:36 to play in the first half.
• After the Pioneers took an eight point lead (22-14) the Hilltoppers responded with a pair of free throws by Zach Rasile and a 3-pointer by Chaz Hinds to trim the deficit to three points (22-19) with 11:37 left in the half, but GSU responded with six unanswered points for their largest lead of the game (28-19) with 9:38 remaining in the first.
• Forcing a Glenville State timeout, Hinds and Dante Spadafora each hit two 3-pointers as West Liberty knocked down four consecutive shots from beyond the arc, giving WLU a 31-28 lead with 7:55 to play in the first. The run extended to 18-2 as a layup by Spadafora made it a 37-30 ball game in favor of WLU.
• West Liberty led by as many as eight (40-32) with 45 seconds to play in the first half before a 3-pointer for the Pioneers cut their deficit to 40-35 at the break.
• In the early minutes of the second half the Hilltoppers matched their largest lead of the game at eight with a layup by Rasile (44-36) and a layup by Lanyc Shuler (46-38), however an 8-0 scoring run for the Pioneers knotted the game back up at 46 apiece with 14:56 remaining in regulation. It was the first of five times that GSU tied the game before they eventually regained the lead (63-62) with 6:51 to play on a layup by Jordan Smith.
• Glenville State's lead was short lived as West Liberty regained the lead for good just eight seconds later as a 3-pointer by Ben Sarson put them back in front by two points (65-63).
• Remaining within five points until the final buzzer, the Pioneers knocked down a 3-pointer with 1.0 second remaining to trim the lead to two points (75-73), however, John Korte stepped to the free throw line and iced the game away for a four point win after GSU fouled him with no time running off the clock.
• West Liberty shot 29-of-73 (39.7%) from the field, 8-of-33 (24.2%) from 3-point range, and 11-of-15 (73.3%) from the free throw line compared to 26-of-55 (47.3%) from the field, 6-of-21 (28.6%) from 3-point range, and 15-of-19 (78.9%) from the free throw line for Glenville State.
• Five WLU players knocked down a 3-pointer in the win, led by Hinds with three and Spadafora with two.
• The Hilltoppers held the advantage in points in the paint (42-38), points off turnovers (12-5), second chance points (14-7), fast break points (18-14), and bench points (41-14).
• Leading four players in double figures for West Liberty, Hinds reached double figures for the 16^th time this season with 14 points while Woodward, Rasile, and Sarson, added 13, 11 and ten points respectively.

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
Chaz Hinds: 14 points, 3-of-7 3-pointers, 3 rebounds, 1 assist
Finley Woodward: 13 points, 6-of-9 field goals, 5 assists, 4 rebounds
Zach Rasile: 11 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Ben Sarson: 10 points, 4-of-7 field goals, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 steal
 
UP NEXT
No. 20 West Liberty will return home for the final time this season on Saturday (February 24) afternoon as they welcome Concord to the hilltop for senior day. The Hilltoppers and Mountain Lions are set for a 4 p.m. tip-off inside the ASRC.