WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. - The No. 12/11 West Liberty University men's basketball team set an NCAA DII single-game record with 12 different players recording a three pointer in Saturday's victory over Concord, 127-79. West Liberty shot a season-best 60% (48-80) from the field and 57.1% (20-35) from beyond the arc on way to the dominating 48-point win.
The Hilltoppers took a seven-point (58-51) lead into the locker room after a hard-fought first half, then came out swinging in the second 20 minutes. West Liberty outscored the Mountain Lions 69-28 in the second half cruising into the win column for the sixth straight game.
All 13 Hilltoppers scored, 12 of which drained a three pointer. Bryce Butler led six in double digits with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting along with seven rebounds and six assists.
Ben Sarson and Zach Rasile each netted 15 points. Sarson also had seven rebounds, while Rasile swished a game-high five long balls in seven attempts.
Malik McKinnney, who was honored pregame for becoming the 55th member of the West Liberty 1,000-point club, andSteve Cannady scored 14 points each, while Chaz Hinds added three triples and finished with 12 points.
The record came fast approaching, as Michael Sampson, Grant Barnhart, and Austin Webb all hit their lone three-point attempts over the final four minutes.
Concord (12-11, 9-9) battled in front early in the game and it went back-and-forth racking up 14 lead changes and six ties before West Liberty took control and never looked back.
WLU scored 17 of the first 21 points in the second half to set the tone. Six different Hilltoppers had baskets on the run, which put them up 20 (75-55). A 21-4 spurt put West Liberty over the century mark (102-67) with 6:36 to play.
Webb's record-setting three pointer gave the Hilltoppers their largest lead of the game, 50-points (125-75) with just over 90 seconds to play.
WLU'S 20 made three pointers was the fourth time hitting that mark this season and they held the Mountain Lions to just five makes from deep.
The Black and Gold dished out 31 assists, the fourth time with 30-plus in a game this season. Dante Spadafora and Butler tied for a game-high six. Spadafora's was a career-best mark, he also set a career-high with four steals and committed zero turnovers.
West Liberty forced 21 turnovers, owning a +14-turnover margin, and outscored the Mountain Lions 39-9 in points off turnovers. WLU swiped 14 steals led by Spadafora's four.
The Hilltopppers' six-game win streak is their longest since the 9-0 start to the season. Overall on the season, WLU improves to 21-3 and 16-2 in conference action staying atop the Mountain East..
The previous NCAA DII record was 11 different players to score a three-point field goal, set twice by UC San Diego on Feb. 28, 2019, then Hillsdale on Dec. 5, 2020.
West Liberty will be on the road for its next contest on Wednesday night traveling to Frostburg State. Tip off is scheduled for 7:30 pm.