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WEST LIBERTY -- West Virginia Wesleyan's Dusan Vicentic hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to complete an improbable comeback Wednesday night as the hot-shooting Bobcats shocked No. 14-ranked West Liberty, 94-91, in Mountain East Conference action at the ASRC.
Coach Ben Howlett's Hilltoppers (5-2, 2-1) seemed in total control after coasting into halftime with a 44-26 lead but Wesleyan (2-6, 2-1) shot a blistering 80 percent (24-of-30) from the floor – including 9-of-10 from the 3-point arc – over the final 20 minutes to pull off the upset.
"That's a tough loss for us," Howlett said. "I thought we came out and played the best 5 minutes of basketball we'd played all year going up to the first media timeout. After that, for whatever reason, we started playing like individuals instead of a team."
Despite the Bobcats' scorching shooting performance, they didn't catch the Hilltoppers until the 1:33 mark when Luke Petrovic got a driving layup to go down for an 88-87 Wesleyan lead.
A pair of Luke Dyer free throws put WLU back on top, 89-88, but Daylin Lee answered with a 3-point bomb from the corner to make it 91-89 heading into the final minute.
West Liberty came up with a big defensive stop and Preston Boswell slithered down the lane for a twisting layup to forge the game's final tie, 91-91, with 12 seconds to play.
With time running out, the ball wound up in Vicentic's hands in front of the Bobcat bench and he hit nothing but net on the game-winner.
West Liberty had burst out of the blocks with a 15-0 burst in the first 3 1/2 minutes off the opening tip. Dalton Bolon had 11 of the 15 points, including three 3-pointers, and the Hilltoppers led by as many as 21 points before settling for the 18-point advantage at halftime.
Bolon finished with 19 points to pace five double-figure scorers for the Hilltoppers. Marlon Moore Jr. had 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds while Boswell and Pat Robinson III added a dozen points each. Dyer finished with 11 points and five assists.
Lee came off the bench to score 15 of his game-high 23 points in the second half -- including a 4-for-4 showing from the 3-point arc.
Davis & Elkins 74, Wheeling 73
ELKINS -- A last-second attempt did not fall, as the Wheeling University men's basketball team was clipped at Davis & Elkins at the McConnell Center.
D&E took a 74-70 lead with just over a minute left in the game. Sophomore forward Emmanuel Ansong responded with a basket-and-one to slice the lead to one with 48 seconds to play.
After the Cardinals got a stop on the defensive end, Wheeling took a timeout with 10 seconds left to draw up a play. Sophomore guard Jay Gentry got the ball at the top of the arc, but could not get a clean look away, allowing the Senators to sneak off with the win.
WOMEN
West Liberty 82, W.Va. Wesleyan 51
WEST LIBERTY -- The West Liberty University women's team took control early and never let go here in rolling to a victory against West Virginia Wesleyan.
Coach Kyle Cooper's Hilltoppers (4-3, 1-2) blistered the nets at a 60 percent clip in the opening quarter and held the Bobcats (3-4, 1-2) to 28 percent shooting for the game in an impressive performance.
Audrey Tingle checked off a lot of boxes on the stat sheet with 11 points, eight rebounds, five assists, a steal and a 3-point field goal while committing just one turnover in 33 minutes of play.
Morgan Brunner got a number of quality looks out of the Hilltoppers' half-court passing sets as well as in transition and the senior sharpshooter made the most of them. Brunner knocked down six 3-point shots to lead all scorers with 18 points and notched her first career double-double with 10 rebounds.
It marked the fourth time in West Liberty's first seven games that Brunner -- who led the nation with 108 3-pointers a year ago -- had made six bonus bombs in a single night.
Taylor Johnson and Corinne Thomas rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Hilltoppers with 14 and 11 points, respectively, as the hosts drained a season-high 16 3-point field goals.
Davis & Elkins 68, Wheeling 59
ELKINS -- The Wheeling University women's basketball team was handed a 68-59 loss at Davis & Elkins.
The loss drops the Cardinals to 1-5 overall, 0-3 in the MEC. Meanwhile, the Senators, playing in their first season in the MEC, improve to 1-2 in league play, 1-6 overall.
Sophomore forward Lilly Ritz led the Cardinals with 20 points on 10 of 16 shooting with nine rebounds.
HIGH SCHOOL
Shadyside Girls Fall
To Morgantown
SHADYSIDE -- Morgantown held Shadyside to four points in the third quarter to secure a 41-34 victory in prep girls basketball action Wednesday.
Tory Hendershot led the way for the Tigers with 17 points.
SWIM
Girls
Dover 130, Martins Ferry 38
Boys
Dover 118, Martins Ferry 43
MARTINS FERRY -- Martins Ferry claimed three individual titles, but fell to Dover. Kayla Fogle was the lone girl for the Purple Riders to win an event as she touched the wall first in the 100 breststroke (1:18.10).
On the boys side, Jarrett Bolinger won the 100 butterfly (1:05.72) while Matthew Collette claimed the 100 breaststroke (1:13.44).