Hilltoppers Finish Off Cal
By DON CLEGGWHEELING - The West Liberty University men's basketball team finished what it started Tuesday afternoon with a 95-89 victory against NCAA Division II Atlantic Region rival California (Pa.) in the opening game of the Main Street Bank Classic at Wheeling Jesuit University.
Coach Jim Crutchfield's Hilltoppers (7-1) closed the game on an 8-0 run, holding the Vulcans (7-2) scoreless during the final 2:21, to snap California's 7-game winning streak.
''California is a big, strong, physical team,'' Crutchfield said. ''We were able to put some really big stops together right at the end and that put us over the top.''
West Liberty led by as many as 12 points, 30-18, midway through the opening half but the Vulcans wasted little time clawing their way back into the contest. It took a John Wolosinczuk 3-pointer just ahead of the horn to send the Hilltoppers into the break with a 46-43 lead.
That set up a see-saw second half which saw five ties and 14 lead changes. Neither team led by more than five points until West Liberty's closing run.
Standout guard Jerial Nixon gave the Vulcans their final lead when he sailed coast-to-coast after gathering in a long rebound and cashed in a free throw after being fouled while finishing the play.
That put California on top, 89-87, with 2:21 on the clock. The Vulcans didn't score again.
Wolosinczuk knotted the count at 89-89 with a pair of free throws at 1:51 and the Hilltoppers went ahead to stay, 91-89, just 4 seconds later when Corey Pelle swiped the in-bounds pass and whipped a no-look pass to Mike Mathey for a short jumper.
''We had been creating some turnovers with our full-court pressure but Cal is very good in transition and they hurt us several times when we didn't turn them over,'' Crutchfield said. ''We took a chance there and it paid off for us.''
Following an exchange of defensive stops, the Hilltoppers got the ball back with 35 seconds to play after forcing Andrew Young into a traveling violation.
Scott Mirich swished a pair of clutch free throws for a 93-89 lead with 27 ticks remaining and Wolosinczuk grabbed the rebound off a California miss and got the ball quickly over to Barry Shetzer, who was fouled with 7.3 seconds on the clock.
Shetzer missed the front end of his 1-and-1 but Wolosinczuk won the rebounding battle and pushed the ball back through the hoop to conclude the scoring.
Wolosinczuk and Shetzer led six double-figure scorers for the winners with 20 points each. Mathey added 17 points and seven assists while Zack Craig came off the bench for a season-high 11 points. Pelle, coming off a 40-point effort at West Virginia State, posted his second straight double-double with 10 points and 10 assists.
''We've had several games go down to the wire so we made sure to get more first-half minutes for some of our guys so they'd be more comfortable late in the game if we needed them,'' Crutchfield said. ''Zack's starting to get healthy again and he gave us a lift with some big shots.''
California shot a blistering 61 percent from the floor (35-of-57) but that advantage was negated by the 22 turnovers forced by the West Liberty pressure. Nixon and Travon Vann paced the Vulcans with 16 and 15 points, respectively.
"This was a good win for us today and it will be a good win down the road, as well,'' Crutchfield said.
''California's an outstanding basketball team that's going to win a lot of games and they're always one of the top teams in our region. This was a quality win over a quality basketball team.''
The Hilltoppers will try to go 2-for-2 against the PSAC this afternoon when they take on Millersville (Pa.) on the final day of the Main Street Bank Classic. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. at the McDonough Center.
Wheeling Jesuit 67
Millersville 59
WHEELING - Steve Catich led Wheeling Jesuit past Millersville with 17 points as four Cardinals reached double-figures in the victory.
Recardo Gaddy netted 15, followed by Andre Harris with 12 and Obi Ukwuoma with 11.
Nigel Davis was the leading scorer for Millersville with 14.
