MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Mountain East Conference men’s and women’s basketball teams went 2-2 Saturday in NCAA Regional tournament games in West Liberty and Columbus, Ohio.
Men’s NCAA Atlantic Regional at West Liberty
No. 3 West Liberty 94, No. 6 Malone 89
The host Hilltoppers (16-4) received a 25-point, 7-rebound effort from Dalton Bolon to advance past Malone, 94-89 in the regional quarterfinals. Bryce Butler and Pat Robinson added 15 points each for West Liberty. Marlon Moore, Jr. and Malik McKinney scored 11 points each. Robert C. Byrd High School grad Luke Dyer dished out a team-high 6 assists.
With the win, an all-MEC semifinal matchup is set for Sunday evening. West Liberty will host No. 2 seed Charleston (14-3) at 5 p.m. for a spot in the Sweet 16.
No. 4 Mercyhurst 62, No. 5 Fairmont State 58
Mercyhurst (12-0) remained unbeaten with a 62-58 win over Fairmont State. Isaiah Sanders led the Falcons with 18 points. Dale Bonner added 15 points for the Falcons and Seth Younkin chipped in with 10 points.
Fairmont State’s season ends with an MEC Tournament title and a 15-5 record. The Lakers will face top-seeded Hillsdale (20-2) in the second semifinal Sunday at 7:45 p.m.
Women’s NCAA Atlantic Regional in Columbus, Oh.
No. 1 Charleston 79, No. 5 Walsh 73
The University of Charleston rallied back from a six-point halftime deficit to defeat Walsh, 79-73 in the regional semifinals. Brooklyn Pannell led the Golden Eagles with 27 points. Erykah Russell added 17 points for UC and Trinity Palacio and Dakota Reeves added 11 points each.
UC (18-2) will face No. 6 Tiffin Monday at 7 p.m. in the Atlantic Regional final. The winner advances to the NCAA Elite Eight.
No. 6 Tiffin 85, No. 2 Glenville State 83
Sixth-seeded Tiffin defeated Glenville State, 85-83 on a layup at the buzzer from Aarion Nichols. She led Tiffin (18-8) with 23 points.
Glenville State led by 11 points midway through the fourth quarter. Zakiyah Winfield led the Pioneers (12-4) with 22 points. Re’Shawna Stone scored 14 points. Mashayla Cecil (12), Dazha Congleton (11) and Taychaun Hubbard (10) also scored in double digits for GSC.