West Liberty, W.Va. – The No. 17 West Liberty University men's basketball team saw their 31-game home win streak come to an end inside the ASRC on Saturday evening as they were edged by (RV) Charleston, 76-72, in a battle between the MEC's top-2 teams. Neither team led by more than eight points in the contest and the lead changed hands a total of 18 times, however a 10-2 scoring run for the Golden Eagles set the tone early in the second half. The Hilltoppers battled back but were unable to grab a lead of more than one point to build momentum late in the contest.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: No. 17 West Liberty 72, (RV) Charleston 76
Team Records: No. 17 West Liberty 15-5 (9-3 MEC), (RV) Charleston 16-3 (11-2 MEC)
Attendance: 897
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Zach Rasile opened the scoring in the game for West Liberty as he tied the game at two before Alek West added the next four points on a layup and pair of free throws to give WLU the early 6-4 lead.
• Dante Spadafora knocked down the first shot of the game from beyond the arc for the Hilltoppers as he pushed the lead to five points (11-6) with 15:06 remaining in the first half. The Black & Gold extended the scoring run to 11-4 as Rasile connected on a fast break 3-pointer to make it 15-8 less than a minute later.
• With momentum still on the side of West Liberty, a dunk by Darren Fergus gave the Hilltoppers their largest lead of the game at eight points (18-10) with 12:15 remaining in the opening half before Charleston outscored WLU 7-2 to draw within three (20-17) at the under ten media timeout with 9:40 left in the first.
• Following the media timeout each team had a scoring drought of nearly three minutes before Kyler Daugustino and Keaton Turner traded layups with just under eight minutes left to play.
• After a layup by Finley Woodward pushed the lead back to three (24-21), Charleston scored five unanswered to take their first lead since the opening basket and only led by as many as two while the lead changed hands three more times before WLU took a 33-32 lead into the halftime break.
• The Golden Eagles opened the second half on a 10-2 scoring run to force an early Hilltopper timeout as they took a 42-35 lead with 16:30 remaining in the game. West Liberty, however, responded quickly as a pair of baskets by Woodward sparked six unanswered points to cut the deficit to one (42-41) with 14:50 left on the clock.
• UC maintained the lead until a pair of free throws by Alek West put WLU ahead 53-52 with 9:11 left to play.
• The Golden Eagles regained the lead with a 7-2 scoring run to put them in front 59-55 with 6:47 to play and was followed by five unanswered points by the Hilltoppers to trade the lead once again as John Korte tied the game at 59 with a 3-pointer and one possession later gave them the lead on a free throw with 4:39 remaining.
• WLU and UC traded the lead nine times in the final 4:06 with neither team leading by more than one until a pair of free throws put Charleston in front by three (71-68) with 41 seconds left on the clock.
• The Hilltoppers final lead came with 1:35 left in the contest as a pair of free throws by West gave them a 68-67 lead, however the Golden Eagles ended the game on a 9-4 run which included them shooting 7-of-8 from the charity stripe.
• West Liberty shot 23-of-62 (37.1%) from the field, 5-of-26 (19.2%) from 3-point range, and 21-of-26 (80.8%) from the free throw line compared to 24-of-43 (55.8%) from the field, 2-of-8 (25.0%) from 3-point range, and 26-of-32 (81.3%) from the free throw line for Charleston.
• WLU failed to make ten or more 3-pointers for only the fifth time this season as they made a season-low five baskets from beyond the arc. No player made multiple shots from deep as Korte, Christian Montague, Rasile, Spadafora, and West each connected on one shot.
• WLU held the advantage in points off turnovers (26-6), second chance points (17-11), and bench points (19-16) while UC held the edge in points in the paint (40-30) and fast break points (20-9).
• West reached the 20-point mark for the second time this season with 21 points, leading three players in double figures.

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
Alek West: 21 points, 6-of-14 field goals, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals
John Korte: 17 points, 5-of-9 field goals, 6 rebounds, 1 block
Finley Woodward: 12 points, 4-of-7 field goals, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 1 steal
 
UP NEXT
West Liberty closes out a stretch of five home games in a six game span on Wednesday, February 7, when they host Davis & Elkins. The Hilltoppers and Senators are set for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off inside the ASRC.