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Jesuit Stuns West Liberty In Three Overtimes

Photo by Cody Tomer Wheeling Jesuit’s Pat Moseh (2) goes up for a shot as West Liberty’s James Griffin (13) goes for the block Saturday at the McDonough Center.

WHEELING — Wheeling Jesuit coach Danny Sancomb could do little but immediately offer a sheepish grin, only partly because his team came out on the winning side of the scoreboard. Being a basketball purist, Sancomb appreciated the epic battle the Cardinals waged with Ohio County rival West Liberty on Saturday at the Alma Grace McDonough Center.

Jarin Hilson hit four free throws in the third overtime while Pat Moseh (25 points, 10 rebounds), Haywood Highsmith (22 points, 14 rebounds) and Kyle Ritz (16 points, 16 boards) recorded double-doubles as the Cardinals (22-6 overall, 16-6 Mountain East Conference) earned a season split with the No. 7 Hilltoppers (25-3, 19-3), 101-98. But it wasn’t until David Dennis Jr.’s 3 at the buzzer bounced off the back iron that Sancomb could exhale.

“It was so hard to score and you have two of the best offensive teams in our league,” Sancomb said. “Both teams just defended and played so hard.

“They did a helluva job as well. They were great.”

Moseh opened the third overtime with a bucket before West Liberty freshman Clay Guillozet (25 points, 13 rebounds, three assists) answered with a floater to tie it 93-93. Ritz made 1 of 2 at the line and the one-point lead stuck until Hilson cashed both ends of a two-shot foul with 18.5 to go, making it 98-95.

Moseh upped it to 99-95 and it looked like that would be all she wrote with 10.7 left, however West Liberty refused to wilt in a game in which both teams refused to die. Devin Hoehn drilled a 3-pointer to cut it to one again, before Hilson hit two more free throws. Sancomb elected to foul before the Toppers could get off a potentially tying 3, sending Brady Arnold to the line.

He missed the first and then the second intentionally, with the ball landing out of bounds to WJU. But a steal set up Dennis’ try that was off the mark.

“We don’t know how to close out a game,” West Liberty coach Jim Crutchfield said. “For a team who has been there so often it’s amazing how many dumb decisions were made down the stretch.

“That’s on me, certainly as much as the players. I need to get back to the drawing board explaining how to close out games, because we had two of the three finishes locked up.

“All we’ve got to do is play hard and play smart, and we don’t.”

Hilson netted a pair of free throws with 24.4 to go in regulation, but the Toppers had a chance to win it, though didn’t get a good look amid some confusion.

The teams traded three straight buckets to open overtime, with Highsmith giving WJU a 76-75 lead. Guillozet tied it with 1 of 2 at the line before Hilson responded with a 3.

Zac Grossenbacher cashed two at the line to knot it at 83-83 with 36.4 left in OT. Moseh missed on one end and Guillozet’s winning 3-pointer rolled out at the buzzer.

Dennis, who finished with 21 points and nine rebounds, gave WLU at 92-89 lead with a pair of free throws with 40.2 left. Moseh countered with two of his own and Dennis hit 1 of 2. Moseh answered with two again. The Toppers had a couple good chances but Hoehn’s 3 was short and Guillozet’s putback was stuffed by Dom Tham for one of Jesuit’s 11 blocks.

Wheeling Jesuit’s defense limited West Liberty to 7 of 42 from beyond the arc. The Cardinals made it a 1-on-1 game.

“We made it difficult on them to do what they do, and they are very good at what they do,” Sancomb said. “We were locked in, guarded the ball and communicated.

“Kyle Ritz and Haywood were just active for us inside.”

Hilson finished with 14. Hoehn netted 20 and Monteroso, who was iffy to play with a sprained ankle, ended with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

“Obviously it was a good game, but from my perspective there were times I thought ‘we aren’t going to win this game because we’ve made too many mistakes that need to be addressed,'” Crutchfield said. “The good news is, they’ve got a really good team and we shoot 7 of 42 from the arc and we’re still in the game, which is hard to believe.

“They get out and get on you tight and force you to beat them to the basket. If I were looking at (WLU having 11 assists) I would say we need to pass the ball better.”

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