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18 mbb pegram drive
81
Winner West Liberty WLU 17-0/12-0 MEC
78
Wheeling Jesuit WJU-M 14-3/10-2 MEC
Winner
West Liberty WLU
17-0/12-0 MEC
81
Final
78
Wheeling Jesuit WJU-M
14-3/10-2 MEC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
West Liberty WLU 42 39 81
Wheeling Jesuit WJU-M 36 42 78

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Chris Myers

No. 1 Hilltoppers Escape Past Cardinals

WHEELING, W.Va. – Preston Boswell's just-inside halfcourt shot at the buzzer fell just off for the Cardinals. No. 1 West Liberty escaped Wheeling Jesuit with the hard-fought 81-78 win in front of another McDonough Center capacity crowd.
 
A Hilltoppers (17-0/12-0 MEC) bucket gave them a nine-point lead, 80-71, with only 2:30 left in the contest. The No. 16 Cardinals' (14-3/10-2 MEC) Pat Moseh downed consecutive jumpers and added a foul shot, before two Jeremiah Wilson free throws made it 80-78 visitors. After a West Liberty missed second free throw, WJU's Haywood Highsmith pulled down the rebound and fired it to halfcourt where Boswell's potential tying 3-pointer fell off the rim.
 
"They (West Liberty) did a good job today, but we just didn't do what we normally do and that is a credit to them. We didn't pull down the boards, defend the thee and gave up too many layups," said WJU head coach Danny Sancomb. "In the second half, we did a good job executing, but we just couldn't get over the hump. We have to do better with our execution for 40 minutes. We didn't turn the ball over a lot (only 10 times), but they converted when we did. We do the little things today and we come out on the right end of the outcome."
 
Highsmith powered the WJU attack with 22 points on 9 of 13 shooting. He made it a double-double with 12 rebounds to go with four assists, two blocks and two steals. Wilson had his own double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Moseh chipped in 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Boswell finished the fourth double-figure scorer with 13 points on 6 of 11 attempts. Brent Pegram added six points, four assists and three steals off the bench.
 
Dalton Bolon made all six of his 3-point tries and finished with 19 points to lead West Liberty.
 
It was neck-and-neck for the entire first half. WJU pushed out to a 4-point lead twice midway through the first half, 15-11 and 17-13, both on Highsmith buckets. Off two Jordan Watson foul shots, West Liberty enjoyed the largest first-half lead, 27-21, minutes later.
 
The Cardinals pushed back on a Drake Goddard, who had seven points, 3-pointer for a 35-34 advantage at 2:49. The Hilltoppers, though, netted eight of the final nine points to take a 42-36 intermission lead.
 
The West Liberty lead grew to as many as 14 points, 53-39, in the first five minutes of half number two. A Boswell triple and Highsmith layin helped the Cardinals pull back within two, 59-57, at 10:45 remaining.
 
WJU was unable to get any closer than the two point difference, which it did three more times, including with 12.7 seconds left in the game.
 
The Cardinals remain at home and battle the Fighting Falcons of Fairmont State on Wednesday night, Jan. 24. Start time is set for 7:30 p.m.


 
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