WEST LIBERTY — The NCAA No. 2-ranked West Liberty University Hilltoppers pounded the West Virginia Wesleyan College Bobcats 125-69 in MEC action at West Liberty, Wednesday.
The Bobcats remained close in the first half, down just six points 12 minutes in. But a combination of West Liberty’s deep bench and three-point shooting prowess slowly ate away at any advantage Wesleyan tried to gain.
In the second half, Bobcats legs started to tire while Hilltoppers shooting started to do what it’s done all season: light up the boards from beyond the three. West Liberty made nearly half of its three-point attempts in the final 20 minutes to post a 77-38 point advantage. Adding to that, Wesleyan turned the ball over 33 times in the game which led to 52 Hilltoppers points.
The Bobcats were led by team scoring leader Deiker Padrino (126 points) who made 3-of-10 field goals and went 4-of-4 from the line in 27 minutes of play. Maxwell Harris scored 14 points and had six rebounds to lead the Bobcats’ defense. Raphael Houssou and Jalen Canada each added 11 points.
Wesleyan welcomes Wheeling University to the Rockefeller Center on Saturday, Dec. 2 for a MEC game scheduled to start at 4 p.m. Admission to Rockefeller Center is free.
