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No. 16 Toppers Roll Past Cats

FROSTBURG, Md. — The No. 16-ranked West Liberty men’s basketball team forced 30 turnovers and never trailed here Wednesday night in blasting Frostburg State, 117-74, in Mountain East Conference action at Bobcat Arena.

It was the 16th 100-point game of the season for Coach Ben Howlett’s Hilltoppers (21-4, 16-3), who moved one step closer to a third straight MEC title while padding their national scoring lead at the Bobcats’ (10-15, 7-12) expense.

After rolling to its 14th win in the last 15 games, West Liberty holds a two-game lead over the rest of the MEC pack with just three games remaining in the regular season. The Hilltoppers can clinch at least a share of their third consecutive league championship with a win at Fairmont State on Sunday.

Frostburg State was able to hang with WLU in the early going on Wednesday. The hosts were still within hailing distance, trailing just 32-29 with 8 1/2 minutes left in the first half, when the Black and Gold shifted into overdrive.

Forcing multiple turnovers out of their full court pressure, the Hilltoppers reeled off 14 unanswered points over the next 2 1/2 minutes to all but put the game out of reach.

Junior All-American guard Dalton Bolon – who scored eight of his game-high 28 points during the spurt – capped the run with a layup off a Luke Dyer steal as the clock ticked past the 6-minute mark and the visitors had opened up a 46-29 lead.

West Liberty carried a 59-43 lead into the halftime locker room but the Bobcats never threatened again as the Hilltoppers pulled away in the second half.

The Hilltoppers’ “Three Musketeers” — Bolon, Will Yoakum and Pat Robinson III — nearly outscored the Bobcats on their own, combining for a total of 72 points.

Bolon collected a game-high eight rebounds to go along with his 28 points while Yoakum poured in 25 tallies and Robinson added 19 more off the bench.

Bolon’s 28 points pushed his career total to 1,663 points – tying him with Howlett and former NCAA Division II All-American Cedric Harris for No. 15 on West Liberty’s list of all-time leading scorers.

Marlon Moore Jr. and Bryce Butler backed the trio with 13 and 11 points, respectively, in a game that saw West Liberty whistled for a season-high 31 fouls as the teams combined for a whopping 62 free throws.

Even so, the issue was never in doubt as the visitors racked up a 54-44 advantage off the glass while doubling Frostburg State (68-34) in points in the paint and 34-12 in points off turnovers.

The Bobcats were led by Torrin Stephens’ 19 points with Terry Kenner and Demetrich Williams contributing 14 and 11 points, respectively.

Sunday’s game at Fairmont State is set for a special 6 p.m. tipoff and will be televised live regionally on AT&T Sportsnet Pittsburgh.

WOMEN

West Liberty 68

Frostburg St. 65

FROSTBURG, Md. — The West Liberty University women’s basketball team came from behind in the second half here Wednesday night, completing a season sweep of Frostburg State with a 68-65 win at Bobcat Arena.

Coach Kyle Cooper’s Hilltoppers (10-15, 6-13) used a big third quarter to storm back from a 7-point halftime deficit and survived a late surge to beat the Bobcats (4-21, 3-16) for the second time this season.

West Liberty appeared on its way to a blowout in the early going, jetting out to an 18-8 lead on a Corinne Thomas 3-pointer with 3 1/2 minutes left in the opening quarter.

Momentum switched sides at that point as the Hilltoppers suddenly couldn’t buy a basket. West Liberty didn’t make another shot in the final 3 1/2 minutes of the quarter and went just 1-for-14 from the floor as the Bobcats turned the tables with a 32-25 halftime lead.

The Hilltoppers opened the third quarter on a 10-0 run to jump back in front and ultimately built a double-digit bulge, 45-35, on a pair of Grace Fodor free throws at the 2:41 mark but Frostburg State wasn’t finished.

The hosts spent the bulk of the fourth quarter chipping away at the deficit and finally pulled even, 64-64, on a Victoria Diggs layup with just over 2 minutes remaining.

Neither team made another field goal the rest of the night but West Liberty went 4-for-4 from the foul line down the stretch to seal the win.

Olivia Belknap tossed in 18 points to pace the Black and Gold while Morgan Brunner and Taylor Johnson added 15 and 12 points, respectively. Junior point guard Audrey Tingle was held to just 2 points but grabbed 8 rebounds and handed out 6 assists – both game-highs.

Tingle’s 8 rebound pushed her past the 500 mark for her career, making her the first Lady Hilltopper ever with 500 rebounds, points and assists.

The Bobcats got 18 points from Amanda Emory and 16 more from Morgan Dombroski in a losing cause.

West Liberty hits the road again on Sunday for a 3:30 p.m. game at Fairmont State.

NEWSLETTER

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