Coach Jim Crutchfield’s unbeaten and No. 9-ranked Hilltoppers (5-0) went over the century mark for the fifth time in as many games, sprinting off to a 125-77 rout of visiting Tiffin (2-2) in a non-conference game at the ASRC.
The five consecutive games of 100 points or more are the most in 84 years of basketball at West Liberty, breaking the previous mark of four straight which had been matched five times in the past five years by the Black and Gold scoring machine.
“There was a little bit different atmosphere today,” Crutchfield said. “It was a Saturday afternoon game with no students on campus because of the holidays but I was really pleased with the energy I saw from our guys.
“We were diving for loose balls, running guys down from behind, sharing the basketball and creating different ways to score. I think we fed off each other a little bit and that’s good to see.”
The Dragons struggled with the Hilltoppers’ full-court defensive pressure and West Liberty controlled the game from the opening tip.
John Wolosinczuk staked the hosts to an early 8-2 lead with a pair of 3-point bombs in the first 90 seconds and the Hilltoppers were off to the races.
Consecutive 3-pointers from Jordan Fortney and Corey Pelle stretched the advantage to 19-6, forcing Tiffin coach John Hill into a timeout with 16:19 still remaining on the first half clock but the issue had already been decided.
West Liberty forced the Dragons into 21 first-half turnovers and closed the half on a 17-0 run to take a 74-31 lead into the locker room at intermission.
For the third time in four home games, the five WLU starters never took off their warm-ups in the second half as the Hilltopper reserves handled matters for the final 20 minutes.
Wolosinczuk swished his first five 3-point field goal attempts and finished with a game-high 20 points in just 15 minutes of action. Chris Morrow added 15 points while Pelle and Mark Shadowens added 13 each. Alex Falk and Keene Cockburn rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points apiece.
Karl Finley and Brandon Harris paced Tiffin with 16 and 15 points, respectively.
All 13 West Liberty players made at least one field goal and handed out at least one assist to fill up a typically balanced stat sheet.
“We really get hot and heavy into conference play this week so it was good to take care of business early and get everybody involved,” Crutchfield said.
“Fairmont and Charleston come here back-to-back on Tuesday and Thursday so we’ve got a couple of short prep games for two of the best teams in our league. I’m glad we get to play them here but we’ll definitely have to be ready for the challenge.”
The Hilltoppers host Fairmont State Tuesday in the second game of a men’s/women’s doubleheader. The women’s game tips off at 5:30 p.m. with the men scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start.
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