WLSC Blasts Bobcats
Taken from article in the Wheeling Intelligencer

By DON CLEGG

Judging from Tuesday night’s season opener against visiting Ohio University Eastern, West Liberty is ready to make a spirited defense of its NCAA Division II national scoring crown.

Eight players cracked double figures in an impressive display of firepower and the Hilltoppers set a school record with a 141-76 romp against the game but outgunned Panthers.

‘‘It was good to get some of our new kids out on the court and get those first-game jitters out of the way,’’ said WLSC head man Jim Crutchfield.

‘‘Everybody got to play a lot and everybody scored. It was a pretty good night.’’

A near-capacity crowd showed up at West Liberty’s ASRC to welcome all five starters back from last season’s 21-win squad. They certainly didn’t go away disappointed.

The Hilltoppers sprinted out to a 13-5 lead less than four minutes after the opening tip and then reeled off 21 unanswered points to lead, 34-5, at the midway point of the half.

Coach Ben Porter’s Panthers (0-3) finally clicked into gear on the offensive end but couldn’t slow West Liberty’s up-tempo attack as the hosts breezed to a 68-32 halftime advantage.

The Hilltopper starters hit the bench for good in the opening minutes of the second half but the Black-and-Gold’s second wave proved nearly as potent as the first.

Nathan Kennedy’s 3-pointer with four ticks remaining put West Liberty past the 140-point mark for the first time in school history.

The Hilltoppers’ five returning starters were all double figure scorers a season ago and picked up right where they left off.

Shane Maynard led the starters with 17 points while Chris Banal and Corey McDuffie added 14 and 13, respectively. Chris Blair and Dan Binggeli chipped in with 11 and 10 points.

‘‘I was really pleased by the way they shared the ball tonight,’’ said Crutchfield. ‘‘We had 33 assists and we didn’t burn anybody out with a lot of minutes.’’

Sophomore guard Ben Howlett scored a team-high 18 points in just 12 minutes while Kameron Law, a sophomore transfer from West Virginia State, added 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds in 17 minutes of action. Mike Manning, a returning junior, needed just a dozen minutes to put 14 points in the book.

Martins Ferry freshman Scott Mirich had six points and nine boards in his college debut while freshman guard Michael Mathey added eight points and six assists.

‘‘I thought the new kids did fine for their first time out,’’ said Crutchfield.

Former John Marshall standout Pat Simons heated up for OU Eastern — the defending Ohio Regional Conference champions — in the second half, dropping in 19 of his game-high 28 points.

Barnesville’s Joey Stephen added 18 points while Monroe Central’s Tyler Knowlton and Barnesville’s Colin Hudson had 11 each. The Panthers drained 18 of their 37 3-point tries.

‘‘I wasn’t real happy with giving up 76 points or all those 3-pointers,’’ said Crutchfield, ‘‘but OU Eastern made some tough shots.

‘‘The Simons kid hit three or four that were fairly well contested. You have to give them credit for making shots like that.’’

West Liberty is back in action Friday and Saturday when the Hilltoppers travel to Johnstown for the UP-J Classic.

They’ll take on the District of Columbia Friday before tangling with host Pitt-Johnstown on Saturday.

‘‘That’s what was good about (Wednesday night),’’ said Crutchfield. ‘‘Those are some pretty good teams we’ll be facing up there.

‘‘That would have been a pretty tough place for our new kids to play their first game.’’



West Liberty 141, OU Eastern 76

OU EASTERN (0-3)

Simons 9-21 2-2 28; Hudson 3-9 2-4 11; Ongley 2-10 0-0 5; Stephen 6-11 2-2 18; Knowlton 4-9 2-4 11; Wise 0-3 0-0 0; Holmes 1-6 0-0 2. Totals 25-69 8-12 76.

WEST LIBERTY (1-0)

McDuffie 5-12 3-4 13; Binggeli 4-10 2-2 10; C.Blair 5-5 1-3 11; Banal 6-12 0-0 14; Maynard 8-12 0-0 17; King 2-3 0-0 5; Howlett 8-10 0-0 18; Kennedy 2-7 0-0 6; M.Blair 3-5 2-2 8; Matheny 4-6 0-0 8; Manning 6-10 0-0 14; Mirich 2-5 2-3 6; Law 5-6 1-2 11. Totals 60-103 11-16 141.

Halftime Score: West Liberty 68, OU Eastern 32. 3-Point Goals: OU Eastern 18-37 (Simons 8-14, Hudson 3-5, 1-4, Stephen 4-6, Knowlton 1-2, Wise 0-3, Holmes 1-3), West Liberty 10-38 (McDuffie 0-6, Binggeli 0-6, Banal 2-3, Maynard 1-4, King 1-2, Howlett 2-3, Kennedy 2-7, M.Blair 0-1, Matheny 0-1, Manning 2-3, Law 0-1). Rebounds: OU Eastern 28 (Ongley 6), West Liberty 64 (Law 10). Assists: OU Eastern 11 (Ongley 8), West Liberty 33 (Binggeli 7).

Section: Sports    Posted: 11/16/2006