WHEELING, W.Va. – In a packed Alma Grace McDonough Center of over 3,000-plus, Round One of the rivalry went to the Cardinals. Wheeling Jesuit registered a 65-point second half and took down No. 1 ranked West Liberty going away, 106-83, Thursday night.
 
Leading 51-50 three minutes into the second 20 minutes, the No. 13 Cardinals' Pat Moseh made a driving layup, stole the ball and assisted on a Drake Goddard 3-point play as part of the key eight-point run. West Liberty pulled to within six points, 58-52, before WJU broke open the contest with a 14-2 run midway through the second half.
 
"We followed the game plan and the team put forth an unbelievable effort tonight," stressed WJU head coach Danny Sancomb. "It was a great atmosphere! I absolutely love Wheeling Jesuit! It was great seeing the administration, students and our fans be so into the game and supportive."
 
With its 12^th victory in a row, Wheeling Jesuit improved to 17-1 overall and stayed in a tie for the top spot of the Mountain East Conference (10-1) with Fairmont State. West Liberty fell to 15-2 with its second consecutive double-digit defeat of the week and are now 9-2 in the league.
 
"West Liberty is a very good team and we knew to win, we had to play well. Any time you play the number one team and rival, you are up for the game (like we were tonight). We have good playmakers who made good decisions and we really are an underrated defensive team," said Sancomb.
 
The Cardinals attack was paced by Haywood Highsmith, Kyle Ritz and Moseh, who all finished with double-double nights. Highsmith garnered high honors with 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting and 14 rebounds for his ninth double-double. He also handed out two assists and blocked two shots.
 
Ritz added 16 points on 6-of-9 from the floor and 10 rebounds. Moseh chipped in 14 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals.
 
The WJU trio grabbed 34 of the team's 54 rebounds compared to West Liberty's 36 rebounds, only four offensive.
 
"Haywood, Kyle and Pat, three guys all had double-doubles were huge for us. When we do things that we are capable of doing, we can compete with anyone," noted the WJU coach. "Eric (Siefert) is one of the best two-way players in Division II and provided great senior leadership and Justin Fritts, another senior, wanted this game."
 
A big key to the game was WJU holding West Liberty senior Seger Bonifant to 14 points on 3-for-12 shooting including missing all five 3-point tries.
 
"Eric Siefert did a really good job making Seger work for the ball tonight. We helped on him as well," said Sancomb.
 
Siefert contributed 14 points and six assists on the offensive end, while Fritts downed 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
 
Chase Lawson had nine points off the bench.
 
The Hilltoppers' David Dennis Jr. led his team with 24 points before fouling out of the contest.
 
The opening half saw seven ties and a six-point home lead, 41-35, before West Liberty scored the final eight points for a 43-41 intermission edge.
 
WJU heads back to the road in less than two days. The Cardinals face the Blue Knights of Urbana University in a 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23, game.