WEST LIBERTY, WV – The No. 2-ranked West Liberty University men’s basketball team locked up its eighth consecutive 20-win season in impressive fashion Wednesday night, shooting nearly 70 percent from the floor in the second half en route to a 100-63 thrashing of Shepherd at the ASRC.
“We actually talked about that in the locker room before the game,” said Hilltopper head coach Jim Crutchfield, who has been at the helm for all eight of them. “West Liberty went 50 years without a 20-win season before our first one and now we’ve had 8 in a row. Our guys knew they had a chance to be part of something pretty special tonight and you could see that on the court.”
Despite playing without ailing starting center C.J. Hester, the Hilltoppers (20-1, 15-0) needed less than 3 minutes to bolt out to a 15-5 lead and never looked back.
A 17-2 run late in the first half sent West Liberty into halftime with a 55-26 lead and the two-time defending WVIAC champions led by as many as 41 points down the stretch in stretching the nation’s longest winning streak to 18 games.
The Hilltoppers were charted with only one turnover in the first half and finished the night with 27 assists and only 8 turnovers while shooting 62 percent (40-of-64) from the floor.
“This was probably one of our most well-rounded performances,” Crutchfield said. “We handled the ball well, made good decisions at both ends of the floor and just looked like a smart basketball team.”
Sophomore Keene Cockburn made the most of his first collegiate start in Hester’s absence, pouring in a game-high 18 points while grabbing 5 rebounds and handing out 3 assists.
Cockburn set the pace for seven double-figure scorers. Chris Morrow, Tim Hausfeld and Cedric Harris all finished with 14 points while Harris adding 7 rebounds and a game-high 7 assists to the mix. Alex Falk checked in with 13 points while Shawn Dyer and Nick Brown each had 11.
“C.J. has been playing really well and probably could have played tonight if we needed him,” Crutchfield said, “but we have a lot of talented players on this team who are capable of stepping up and answering the bell.
“Keene got that opportunity tonight and certainly made the most of it but I really liked the fact that we had 7 guys in double-figures even with one of our starters in street clothes. That kind of balance wins basketball games.”
Brantley Osborne had 18 points for Shepherd while Chad Moore added 16 points and 11 rebounds in a losing cause.
The Hilltoppers will be idle this weekend before returning to the ASRC on Monday for a 7:30 p.m. game against Ohio Valley.
GAME NOTES
X Wednesday’s win was Crutchfield’s 100th home win since taking the reins in 2005. He has a 100-10 (.909) record at the ASRC
X The Hilltoppers surpassed the 100-point mark for the seventh time in the last eight games and the 12th time this season
X West Liberty extended its WVIAC-record conference winning streak to 55 games and has now won 38 straight WVIAC home games
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