West Liberty 112, Pitt-Johnstown 88 | Box Score
By West Liberty Sports Information
INDIANA, Pa. – The No. 5-ranked West Liberty University men's basketball team blasted Pitt-Johnstown, 112-88, here Saturday afternoon in an NCAA D2 Atlantic Region quarterfinal at the Kovalchick Center on the campus of Indiana (Pa.) University.
Coach Ben Howlett's No. 2-seeded Hilltoppers (29-3) will take on No. 3 seed Mercyhurst (25-5) in Sunday's 5 p.m. Atlantic Region semifinal. Mercyhurst held off East Stroudsburg, 72-66, in the other afternoon quarterfinal.
"Losing here in the quarterfinal round a year ago was 100 percent motivation for us today," head coach Ben Howlett said. "These 14 guys are a lot of fun to coach. They practice the right way and they play the right way. Really happy to see that rewarded today."
West Liberty jumped on Pitt-Johnstown from the opening tap, scoring 11 of the game's first 13 points to take a 9-point lead just over three minutes after the opening tap.
The Mountain Cats closed the gap to 13-7 on a John Paul Kromka rebound hoop but Malik McKinney answered with a driving layup and the Hilltopper pressure clamped down hard.
The Black and Gold reeled off 10 unanswered points over the next 90 seconds, capped by a pair of McKinney free throws that pushed the count to 23-7 with 12:42 still to play in the first half. The lead never dropped below double-figures the rest of the way.
"I thought our guards created a lot of havoc with the press," Howlett said. "Even when we weren't forcing turnovers, we were speeding up the pace. That allowed us to wear them down, physically and mentally, as the game went on."
The margin hit 20 points for the first time, 37-17, on a Steve Cannady free throw at 7:40 of the first half. West Liberty carried a 58-42 advantage into the halftime locker room and led by as many as 24 points down the stretch.
The Hilltoppers hit 54 percent (43-of-79) of their shots from the floor, including 8-of-20 (40 percent) from behind the 3-point arc. Howlett's up-tempo crew came up with 14 steals, forced 20 turnovers and held a whopping 31-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
Two-time Atlantic Region Player of the Year Bryce Butler led the way with 27 points and 8 rebounds while McKinney added 22 points to pace seven WLU players in double-figures. Ben Sarson and Zach Rasile finished with 13 and 12 points, respectively, Christian Montague added 11 and the Black and Gold got 10 each from Cannady and Fin Woodward.
Andrew Shull led UPJ with 23 points while Kromka added 16 points and 9 boards. Jared Jakubick tossed in 15 points and Joe Batt recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
West Liberty advances to the Atlantic Region semifinals tomorrow (Sunday) at 5:30 pm against No. 3 seed Mercyhurst back inside the Kovalchick Center.
Virginia Union 66, Fairmont State 64 | Box Score
By Fairmont State Sports Information
INDIANA, Pa. – The Fairmont State men's basketball team fell in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Atlantic Regional Tournament to Virginia Union, 66-64, at the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex on Saturday (March 11) in Indiana, Pa.
The Falcons held an eight point lead with 6:30 left in the second half. The Panthers fired off a 12-2 run to finish the game and advanced to the semifinal round.
"I want to thank the coaches and players and the seniors," said head coach Tim Koenig. "I am really appreciative of them. This one hurt and it was a tough finish. I love these guys and think the world of them."
Down by three points early in the first half, the Falcons scored 14 unanswered points and jumped out to an 18-7 lead. Isaiah Sanders started the run with a jumper and Tariq Woody dumped off a pass to George Mangas for a layup in the paint. Another layup by Mangas, a three-pointer apiece by Briggs Parris and Zyon Dobbs and a David Jolinder fastbreak layup completed the Falcons scoring push.
VUU closed the gap to one after scoring eight straight and trailed 21-20 with less than seven minutes remaining in the opening half. Sanders knocked down a longball and the Falcons went up by six with 5:38 to go. The Panthers closed the gap to two points twice in the final five minutes. Dobbs swished a three-pointer with 28 seconds left and the Falcons led by four at the half.
Sanders poured in two free throws and FSU led by six points to open the second half. Parris knocked down a three-pointer to put Fairmont State by seven with 13:45 remaining. The Panthers cut the Falcons' lead to three points with 12:45 on the clock. Jolinder and Mangas both made jumpers and the Falcons pushed the lead back to seven at the halfway mark of the half. A Woody layup and a Jolinder three-pointer increased Fairmont State's lead to nine points with 7:49 left. Sanders rimmed home a three-pointer from the corner with 6:30 to go and the Falcons led 62-54.
VUU turned up the pressure on defense and forced a string of Fairmont State turnovers that led to points on the offensive end. The Panthers pulled within one point after a Devon Sims jumper with 5:42 on the clock. VUU took its first lead since the 15:23 mark of the second half at the 4:33 mark. Woody slammed home a dunk to put the Falcons back in the lead, 64-63. VUU hit a triple with 2:30 left and jumped back in front, 66-64. The Falcons had multiple scoring attempts in the final two minutes to tie or take the lead. VUU held on the defensive end and advanced after a 66-64 win.
Sanders and Mangas both scored 13 points to lead Fairmont State in scoring. Dobbs finished with 10 and Parris made a trio of three-pointers for nine points. Mangas grabbed eight rebounds and Seth Younkin collected four offensive boards. He and Woody both swatted two blocks and Parris secured a pair of steals.
The Falcons were held to 41.4% shooting on the night and 28.1% from beyond the arc. VUU shot 35.1% from the field and made 36.4% of its three-point attempts. The Panthers forced 16 Fairmont State turnovers and the Falcons forced eight.