It's never an easy time for the West Liberty men's basketball team when it plays Glenville State, even though the Hilltoppers walked into Friday's Mountain East Conference tournament quarterfinal ranked 11th in the country and the Pioneers walked in with 12 wins. In two previous meetings this season, WLU escaped Glenville with a three-point overtime win and beat the Pioneers by 11 at home.
So Friday's clash wasn't anything new, a tough contest that came down to the final seconds before West Liberty put away the Pioneers 75-71 and advanced to the tournament semifinals, where the Hilltoppers will face Wheeling Jesuit at 8:15 p.m. Saturday.
"They have a knack for playing us," West Liberty coach Jim Crutchfield said. "The way their personnel lays out, they have a lot of good ball-handlers. They're more guard-oriented. You have a hard time getting the ball out of their hands. They spread us out."
The Pioneers (12-16) led by as many as eight points in the first half, but the Hilltoppers (26-3) were able to recover and hold off Glenville. Down 72-71 with 13 seconds left, GSC senior Brett Morris attempted a short jumper but was blocked by West Liberty's Zac Grossenbacher. Grossenbacher grabbed the ball, was fouled, but hit only 1 of 2 free throws. Morris had a chance to tie the game with 3 seconds left, but was stripped of the ball in the lane by Dan Monteroso. David Dennis came up with the ball and was fouled, hitting both free throws for the final margin.
"I'm very proud of my team," GSC coach Stephen Dye said. "Let's be honest, not many people gave us a chance coming into this game. I thought we played with a lot of class and a lot of character and I thought we fought for most of the game. We had a couple of letdowns ... but that's basketball. That happens."
Glenville's Terry Davis Jr. led all scorers with 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range. Morris went 4 for 11 from the floor for 14 points. Monteroso led West Liberty with 22 points while Grossenbacher added 12 points and 14 rebounds despite playing the last few minutes of the game with four fouls.
Contact Derek Redd at 304-348-1712 or derek.redd@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @derekredd.