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Unbeaten West Liberty Survives Scare

WEST LIBERTY — Unbeaten and No. 7-ranked West Liberty survived a poor shooting night from the perimeter to hold off a tall and talented King (Tenn.) squad by a 91-87 count on a snowy Wednesday night at the ASRC.

“We definitely struggled shooting the ball,” Coach Ben Howlett said after seeing his team miss 14 of 16 3-pointers in the first half and shoot below 20 percent (6 of 31) from behind the arc for the game, “but as poorly as we shot the ball, I’m proud of the way my guys kept battling and found a way to win against one of the better teams we’re probably going to play all season.”

The Hilltoppers (10-0) entered the game leading the nation with an average of 16 3-pointers a night and ranked among the top 10 nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (44.4 percent), but they came out as cold with the wintry blasts buffeting the arena.

The teams traded leads several times during a back-and-forth opening half but it was the Tornado (6-4) that put together the game’s first extended run, ripping off a 12-3 spurt to take a 42-33 lead with three minutes left in the half.

King carried a 45-41 lead to the buzzer and WLU jogged to the locker room to discuss its first halftime deficit of the season.

The Tornado lived up to their nickname when play resumed, reeling off seven straight points in the opening minute to take their biggest lead, 52-41.

“When the shots aren’t falling, you have to find other ways to win,” Howlett said. “I thought we really stepped it up defensively in the second half and that’s what got us going.”

After Dalton Bolon finished off a fast break, James Griffin picked up a steal at the other end and sailed coast-to-coast for a contested layup that helped ignite a Hilltoppers run.

Six minutes later, Bolon wrapped a pair of baskets around another Griffin hoop to close out a 20-4 West Liberty surge that turned the 11-point deficit into a 61-56 lead with 11:48 on the clock.

King never stopped battling and closed the gap to 81-79 on a pair of Je’Don Young free throws with 1:26 to play only to see Dan Monteroso drive to the hoop for a conventional three-point play and an 84-79 West Liberty advantage with 1:01 remaining.

The Tornado’s Mack Owens tossed in an improbable 3-pointer just over the fingertips of a leaping Griffin, making it a one-possession game again, 84-82, at the 44-second mark but the Hilltoppers had the answer once again.

After breaking the King press, Monteroso drove into the lane to draw the defense before flipping the ball back out to Jordan Watson, who calmly drained a dagger of a 3-pointer to put the game on ice, 87-82, with less than 30 seconds to play.

“We work on late-game situations with the lead and without the lead every day in practice,” Griffin said. “Hitting big shots in pressure situations is the fun part of the game. It’s always fun to win, especially when you beat a really good team like we did.”

Bolon had 19 points and Monteroso added 16 to lead five double-figure scorers for West Liberty. Watson came up big down the stretch, tallying 10 of his 15 points in the final 5 ¢ minutes — including a pair of crucial 3-pointers. Griffin added 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds while Eric Meininger overcame foul trouble to finish with 11 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Young and Mike Salomon led King with 21 and 19 points, respectively. The 6-foot-6, 240-pound Owens had a double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds but was also harassed into seven turnovers by the Hilltoppers’ aggressive defense.

“James Griffin’s role has changed this year but he’s really embraced it,” Howlett said. “We had him guarding No. 30 (Owens), who is a real load, and he did a really good job on him, especially down the stretch. That’s a great example of how unselfish this team is and it’s a big factor in our success.”

The Hilltoppers close out their pre-Christmas schedule at 6 p.m. Tuesday with a game against the University of the District of Columbia.

NEWSLETTER

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