— By Taylor Kennedy
FAIRMONT, W.Va. — West Liberty built a 13-point halftime lead, then had to withstand a furious Fairmont State rally to claim a 110-107 win Saturday at the Feaster Center.
By snapping a two-game skid to the Falcons, West Liberty (24-2) cliched the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Mountain East Conference tournament next month. The Hilltoppers also claimed the league’s regular-season title for the fifth straight season.
“I have mixed emotions,” said fourth-year West Liberty head coach Ben Howlett. “I thought the first half was clean. We shot the ball at a high rate. In the second half, we took our foot off the gas for whatever reason. I thought they were making tough shots with guys in their faces, but that’s what good teams and players do. They didn’t quit.”
The two teams met last month and the Falcons overcame a 17-point deficit to win, 100-97. Howlett’s his squad almost had a case of deja vu as the Falcons fought back from a 16-point deficit in Saturday’s second half.
“We talked about it, but we have a lot of seniors that have played in a ton of big games,” Howlett stated. “As a coaching staff, we rely on those. Basketball is a game of runs. They are a good team, and they will go on runs. We are going to go on runs, too. Luckily, we made a few more points than them tonight.”
A layup by Cole Vonhandorf gave the Falcons a 94-93 lead with 46 seconds left in regulation, before the Hilltoppers’ Pat Robinson missed the front end of a 1-and-1 just 10 seconds later.
However, after the Falcons rebounded the miss, the Hilltoppers forced a turnover that led to a transition dunk by Bryce Butler, putting WLU up by one with 22 seconds. Fairmont’s Briggs Parris missed a jumper with two seconds left, and Robinson secured the ball and was immediately fouled.
However, West Liberty began the celebration too early as a half second remained and two Hilltopper players had rushed the court to congratulate their teammates. After discussion between the officials, West Liberty was asssessed a technical foul.
Parris stepped to the line and knocked down two crucial free throws to put his team up one, but Robinson still needed to shoot his foul shots. Robinson made his second of two free throws to force overtime.
The Falcons led 100-99 in the extra session before West Liberty used a 5-0 spurt, capped by Butler’s layup, to go on top for good.
Isaiah Sanders made a 3-pointer to cut the Falcons’ deficit to 108-105 with 1:23 left, but Fairmont State didn’t score again until Zyon Dobbs layup made it 109-107 with 8 seconds left.
Robinson split two free throws, then fouled Vonhandorf with 2 seconds left. Vonhandorf missed both free throws, though Sanders rebounded the miss and got off a triple in an effort to tie, but it missed the mark and sealed the outcome.
“As a coaching staff, I think it is a matter of watching the film and pointing stuff out to our guys, ”Howlett said. “These guys work incredibly hard, and they care about winning. When we tell our guys to do certain things, they will put effort into making sure that doesn’t happen again. We are going to continue to rely on our seniors.”
Butler led all players with 30 points and made 14-of-19 shots.
Robinson scored 25 and the Hilltoppers’ Marlon Moore Jr. tied a season-high with 18 points to go with three blocks.
“I feel like I can bring this to the table a lot,” Moore said. “I play my game as much as I can. I play well, but this is nothing new for me. I want to continue showcasing my talents.”
“I tell everybody that in big games, he is the guy whether it is a freshman or senior,” Howlett added. “He was relentless. Tonight was one of the best games in his career.”
Parris’ 26 points led the Falcons, while Sanders added 22 and Vonhandorf and Dobbs each scored 21.