West Liberty, W.Va. – After grabbing the momentum in the closing minutes of the first half, a strong second half carried the (RV) West Liberty University men's basketball team to a 95-75 win over Davis & Elkins on Wednesday evening inside the ASRC. The Hilltoppers swung the momentum in their direction with an 18-6 scoring run entering the halftime break which led to the offense starting to click as they shot 57.1 percent from the field and 52.9 percent from beyond the arc against one of the nation's strongest defenses.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: (RV) West Liberty 95, Davis & Elkins 75
Team Records: (RV) West Liberty 16-5 (10-3 MEC), Davis & Elkins 12-9 (7-6 MEC)
Attendance: 577
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After a jumper gave Davis & Elkins the early 4-3 lead, a fastbreak layup by Alek West marked six consecutive points for West Liberty which forced the Senators to call a timeout with 16:05 remaining in the half.
• A 3-pointer by Zach Rasile, one of only three made shots from beyond the arc in the opening half for WLU, gave the Hilltoppers an eight point lead (16-8) with 12:46 to play in the first, however a 7-0 scoring run by D&E trimmed the lead down to one over the next three minutes.
• A pair of free throws for Davis & Elkins tied the game at 18 with 8:17 left in the half and they regained the lead at 19-18 the ensuing possession. The Senators led by as many as three points (23-20) at the end of the 15-4 scoring run with five and a half minutes remaining till the break.
• Christian Montague connected on a 3-pointer of an assist from John Korte sparked the 18-6 scoring run that gave the Hilltoppers the momentum entering halftime as they held a 38-29 advantage.
• Korte knocked down a shot from beyond the arc to push the West Liberty lead to double digits for the first time at 41-31 with 19:06 remaining in the game. Davis & Elkins made it a back-and-forth game before a Chaz Hinds 3-pointer sparked a 9-0 scoring run that once again forced a Senator timeout with 16:11 remaining as WLU built a 52-35 advantage.
• D&E answered with a 9-3 scoring run to trim the WLU lead down to 11 points (55-44) before Finley Woodward stalled the run with a layup with 13:43 left in the game.
• An 11-2 scoring run for the Hilltoppers pushed the lead to 20 on a 3-pointer by Hinds with 9:46 on the clock.
• An unconventional 6-point possession capped an 8-0 scoring run that extended the lead to 27 points (78-51) while Montague knocked down a 3-pointer and a foul on the rebound attempt gave the Hilltoppers the extra passion. Lanyc Shuler took full advantage of the extra possession as he connected on his own shot from beyond the arc.
• West Liberty held their largest lead of the night at 32 points as Kyler Daugustino scored on a layup to make it 87-55 with 5:09 left in the contest.
• The Senators ended the game on a 20-8 scoring run to trim the WLU lead to 95-75 at the final buzzer.
• West Liberty shot 33-of-70 (47.1%) from the field, 12-of-34 (35.3%) from 3-point range, and 17-of-25 (68.0%) from the free throw line compared to 28-of-52 (53.8%) from the field, 4-of-14 (28.6%) from 3-point range, and 15-of-23 (65.2%) from the free throw line for Davis & Elkins.
• D&E entered the game as fourth ranked field goal defense (39.3%) and the 24^th ranked 3-point percentage defense (30.7%), the Hilltoppers 33 made field goals and 12 3-point field goals were the most they have allowed in 2023-24.
• The 12 made 3-pointers were the 16^th time this season that WLU made ten or more from beyond the arc, as they were led by Montague who knocked down three. Rasile, Korte, Shuler, and Hinds each made two.
• West Liberty held the advantage in points off turnovers (25-12), second chance points (21-9), fast break points (21-17), and bench points (41-21) while Davis & Elkins held the edge in points in the paint (46-34).
• Daugustino and West led seven players in double figures scoring with 14 points apiece. West has now reached double figures in ten games while Daugustino has in eight games.
• Defensively, West collected four steals while Darren Fergus added three, marking the fifth and fourth games they've recorded three or more in a game respectively.

 
WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
Kyler Daugustino: 14 points, 7-of-10 field goals, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 block
Alek West: 14 points, 5-of-9 field goals, 4 rebounds, 4 steals, 1 assist
Christian Montague: 12 points, 3-of-5 3-pointers, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, 1 steal

POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE (KYLER DAUGUSTINO, HEAD COACH BEN HOWLETT, AND ALEK WEST)

 
UP NEXT
Starting with a visit to West Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday, February 10, the West Liberty basketball programs will close the season with five of their next seven games on the road. The Hilltoppers and Bobcats are slated for a 4 p.m. tip-off in Buckhannon, West Virginia.