BUCKHANNON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Wesleyan (1-6, 0-3 Mountain East Conference) men’s basketball team fell to West Liberty (6-1, 3-0 MEC) by a 120-72 score inside Rockefeller Center on Wednesday.
 
Leaders for WVWC
Jayden Hibbett led all scorers with 29 points while also distributing four assists and ripping down five rebounds. Braeden McGrew had a game-high six assists contributing nine points while shooting 4-8 from the field.
 
Leaders for West Liberty
The Hilltoppers had six players score in double figures, with Garrett Denbow leading WLU with 16 points. Victor Kovacevic tallied 14 points and seven rebounds while shooting a perfect 6-6 from the charity stripe. Pat Robinson, Ben Sarson, Luke Powell, and Elijah Watson all scored 10 points or more.
 
Inside the First Half
With 18:48 in the first half, Hibbett opened the scoring for the ‘Cats drilling a turnaround jumper from the right corner, making it a 4-2 ballgame. WLU would go on a 7-0 run before Hibbett would answer again with a jumper inside the paint, making the score 11-4.
 
The Hilltoppers would go on a 15-0 scoring run before Anthony Craven Jr. made a free throw line jumper with 13:36 on the clock. At the 9:25 mark, McGrew would drill a deep triple from the left-wing, opening up his scoring on the half. The Hilltopper pressure bested the ‘Cats in the opening half, scoring 32 points on 16 Bobcat turnovers.
 
Inside the Second Half
WVWC turned the tide in the second half, scoring 20 points off turnovers compared to WLU’s seven. Hibbett would score 15 of WVWC’s 19 points across an 8:49 span in the half. Kabe Ellis would score nine points off three triples, all coming with under two minutes to play in the second half.
 
Up Next
WVWC men’s basketball will travel to Wheeling on Saturday as they take on the Cardinals at 2 p.m.