Mar 10, 2025
photograph by: Joe Lovell
West Liberty’s JJ Harper, proper, makes an attempt a shot inside towards Fairmont State’s Sam Emich on Sunday inside WesBanco Enviornment in the course of the MEC males’s basketball championship recreation.
WHEELING — Sunday’s crescendo of the five-day MEC basketball match saved on constructing. And constructing. And constructing some extra.
The ultimate recreation of the match inside WesBanco Enviornment, the lads’s championship pitting No. 1 West Liberty towards No. 2 Fairmont State, had extra motion than may very well be contained in regulation- and even in a number of overtimes. It took three time beyond regulation durations earlier than the Fairmont State Falcons might seize their second-ever MEC Males’s Basketball Championship over the Hilltoppers, 122-114.
In a rematch of the 2017, 2021 and 2023 championships, the Falcons outlasted West Liberty, who should regroup earlier than the beginning of the D-II NCAA Match.
“The saying is it’s onerous to beat a group 3 times, I suppose it’s true,” West Liberty head coach Ben Howlett stated. “Often after losses, I’m somewhat extra down than I’m proper now, I’m truly tremendous happy with my group, I believed their effort was actually good. All 10 guys who performed, I believed their effort was actually good.
“I all the time attempt to discover one thing constructive after we lose, and the constructive is that we’re not carried out taking part in but. There’s a much bigger match arising and I’ve been part of West Liberty groups who lose this recreation after which undergo the area and get to the Elite Eight. We’re going to be on a mission. We’re going to get higher this week, and we’ll be prepared for whoever we play. Congratulations to Fairmont and coach [Tim] Koenig and their group.”
The Falcons despatched the sport to time beyond regulation on an Andre Harris midair putback with three second left, a rating which tied the sport 86-86.
That’d be a well-known sight within the closing seconds of the remainder of the sport.
Impressively, Harris additionally scored on a putback with 15 seconds to play within the first time beyond regulation to tie the sport 95-95 and ship the competition to a second time beyond regulation, and as soon as once more scored a putback with 14 seconds left to tie the sport 104-104 and ship the sport to a 3rd time beyond regulation.
Harris completed with 14 factors, 9 rebounds, and loads of late-game heroics. Fairmont State was led in scoring by match MVP Rudy Fitzgibbons III, who scored a game-high 26 factors.
“Fitzgibbons is an efficient participant,” Howlett stated. “I’ll put Lanyc [Shuler] on anyone within the county, I belief him, he’s going to get stops. [Fitzgibbons] made some performs, let’s give him credit score earlier than we begin saying what we did fallacious.
“He made some performs. On the flip facet, as soon as he did miss, Andre Harris bought a rebound, put it up and in. We weren’t in a position to full the play, get a cease and end the sport.”
Howlett acknowledged that his Hilltoppers had been one rebound wanting a convention title- 3 times over.
“We had our probabilities to win- and that’s what’s irritating in order for you me to nit-pick,” the eighth-year head coach stated. “We had a number of probabilities to get a cease after which a rebound, and we had been in all probability going to win the sport if we had been ready to try this.
“There’s stuff you bear in mind […] as a coach you’ll be able to look and say ‘Ought to I’ve carried out this? Ought to I’ve carried out that?’ You possibly can drive your self loopy about it. It was only a nice basketball recreation. I believed the group was nice, the sector was nice. THey definitely bought their cash’s price immediately.”
Within the third time beyond regulation, the Hilltoppers couldn’t generate a lot offense. They shot 2-10 total, whereas Fairmont State nonetheless appeared in wonderful type, taking pictures 5-6 from the sphere. Fairmont State shot 6-6 from the foul line, West Liberty shot 5-6, and the Hilltoppers’ title hopes slipped away beginning across the 25-second mark with a turnover by Kyler D’Augustino when the junior collided with a defender whereas driving down the lane. With possession of the ball and a 118-114 lead, the Falcons did their job on the foul line for a win that was lengthy within the works.
“I believe fatigue, and that’s on me,” Howlett stated of his group’s offensive struggles down the homestretch. “I felt actually good with the blokes who had been taking part in. You will have a man within the recreation for 45 minutes, it’s onerous to take them out as a result of the sub’s been sitting for a very long time. I’m happy with the hassle, the hassle wasn’t the difficulty. Simply didn’t make sufficient pictures to get a win.”
West Liberty wa led in scoring by Lanyc Shuler, who scored 23 factors within the championship marathon. D’Augustino and JJ Harper every scored 20 factors, whereas Finley Woodward scored 19.
West Liberty received the turnover differential 25-15, whereas Fairmont State out-rebounded their opponents 57-39.
Within the first half, West Liberty got here out chilly, failing to seek out their footing early whereas Fairmont State labored their method to a 13-point lead on the 11:32 mark of the primary half, the largest lead within the recreation by both group.
Regardless of this, West Liberty flipped the tables on their opponent and took a 44-43 lead at halftime.
“I believed their protection was actually good in the beginning of the sport, perhaps overdribbled somewhat bit, didn’t move the ball like we normally do,” Howlett stated of his group’s begin. “We dug ourselves a gap, however then to enter halftime up one, I felt fairly good. I don’t know what we stretched it out to within the second half, they only made extra performs then us down the stretch.”
It was the Hilltoppers’ flip to stretch out a lead within the second half, going up by as a lot as 11 earlier than issues tightened up within the closing minutes.
“Hit a pair pictures from the perimeter,” Howlett stated of his group’s resurgence after taking place double digits. “Had a tough time getting clear pictures from there. We will rating in bunches actually quick. If we’re down 10 or 11, we will make that disappear actual fast. That’s how we play. There was no panic inside our group. We knew the whole lot’s A-okay, we’re going to determine it out. Went up one at halftime and as a training employees we had been feeling fairly good.”
West Liberty shot 40.8% from the sphere, together with 35.6% from 3 on Sunday. Fairmont State had a banner day with 54.3% taking pictures and 57.1% accuracy from distance.
It was West Liberty’s ninth championship recreation look, most within the convention. The Hilltoppers’ 4 titles stay probably the most within the MEC.
“Now it’s the NCAA Match,” Howlett stated. “Now it’s- you win, you advance, you lose, you’re carried out for the 12 months. This group has the flexibility to make a run, we’ve improved quite a bit. We bought beat by a extremely good group immediately. It stings, it sucks however we’re going to maneuver on from this. We’ll come out Saturday swinging.”
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
#1 Fairmont State def. #6 Glenville State, 79-65
WHEELING – The Falcons defeated the Pioneers by a decisive margin behind 41 mixed factors from Alyssa DeAngelo and Leslie Huffman.
DeAngelo scored 21 and Huffman 20 for Fairmont State, now repeat champions after defeating West Virginia State final season.
Jalen Gibbs collected a extremely efficient 13-point, 14-rebound double-double in 18 minutes for Fairmont State.
Glenville State obtained 17 factors from every of Dream Cherry and Tynasia Bunting. The Pioneers led 36-33 at halftime.
MORGANTOWN — TCU’s three-headed monster was price multiple decided J.J. Quinerly on Saturday. That …
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