By Trent Nicholson, Contributing Writer
The West Liberty men’s basketball team hosts Mountain East Conference rival Notre Dame College on Saturday in the ASRC. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.
The Hilltoppers (2-0) come in to this game coming off two dominant wins in the MEC Tournament challenge against Cheyney University and West Chester University. On Wednesday, they played Davis and Elkins University in non-tournament play. Saturday’s game will be West Liberty’s first conference game of the year.
In last year’s contests, West Liberty swept Notre Dame College in both of the games they played. The first game West Liberty won by a score of 106-103 in overtime, and they won the second game by a score of 84-78.
From the first game they played, Seger Bonifant led all scorers with 28 points while also chipping in with 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Devin Hoehn drained four 3-pointers and added 24 points while Brady Arnold and Mike Lamberti finished with 17 and 13 points, respectively.
David Dennis suffered through a tough shooting game, making just one of 12 shots from the floor, but he just missed a triple-double with 10 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and a game-high six steals – none bigger than the one in the final 10 seconds of regulation.
From the second game they played, Zac Grossenbacher led a balanced West Liberty attack with 14 points and 14 rebounds while Seger Bonifant also finished with 14 points. Devin Hoehn added 13 points while Mike Lamberti finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. Eric Meininger (7) and Brady Arnold (7) were major contributors off the bench.
The West Liberty women’s basketball team hosts Mountain East Conference rival Notre Dame College on Saturday at the ASRC. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
The lady Hilltoppers (0-2) come in to this game after dropping games to Mercyhurst University and the California University of Pennsylvania. They played Ohio Dominican University on Tuesday, and Saturday’s game will be West Liberty’s first conference game of the year.
In last year’s contest, West Liberty split two games with Notre Dame, winning the first game by a score of 77-68 and losing the second game by a score of 65-61.
In the first game, Liz Flowers went over the 1,500-point mark for her career, finishing with 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Kiki Simpson also had a strong outing with 14 points and a team-high 8 rebounds. Johnie Olkosky drained a trio of 3-pointers and scored 13 points while Emily Bucon stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, six rebounds and three assists. Kailee Howe added six points and a game-high 11 assists.
From the second game, Kiki Simpson led the way with 17 points and 15 rebounds – both game-highs and her 12th double-double of the season. Johnie Olkosky hit five 3-pointers and matched Simpson’s 17 points while Liz Flowers added 12 points and 10 rebounds in a losing cause.
Both games on Saturday will be broadcast live on WLU-TV channel 14. Check out The Trumpet next week for more previews and player profiles, and check The Trumpet Online for game recaps.
Photo credit: Hilltoppersports.com
