Men's Basketball | 3/11/2017 6:05:00 PM

Box Score
Wheeling Jesuit Postgame
West Liberty Postgame

By Duane Cochran for FightingFalcons.com
FAIRMONT – The fact that it took an extra five minutes to decide the outcome of third-seeded and No. 7 ranked West Liberty and sixth-seeded Wheeling Jesuit's opening-round NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Tourament game Saturday afternoon at the Joe Retton Arena was a surprise to no one.

After all, it took the teams a total of five overtimes to decide their two regular season games. Thus, it was only fitting that yesterday with a berth in the NCAA Atlantic Regional semifinals at stake the two teams combined for another dramatic overtime finish as Wheeling freshman Preston Bowell banked in a 3-pointer from the right wing with 5.4 seconds left in OT to give the Cardinals a thrilling 96-95 victory.

Ironically, it took instant replay to actually decide the outcome of the game. On West Liberty's final possession Zak Kirkbride inbounded the ball to teammate Devin Hoehn who initially fumbled it. Kirkbride alertly gathered in the loose ball and fired it into the front court to West Liberty's Zac Grossenbacher who was located on the opposite right wing. Grossenbacher, under extreme pressure from WJU's Kyle Ritz and Haywood Highsmith, double-pumped on his 3-point attempt which banked in with the horn sounding and was called good. Replay, however, was consulted and it was determined that the ball was still on Grossenbacher's hand when the backlight on the backboard lit up, thus making the shot no good and giving the victory to Wheeling.

"It was incredible. What a game," WJU coach Danny Sancomb said. "At the end of regulation and the end of overtime both teams fought extremely hard. We knew what we were up against. They're a team which has won several regionals, has played in Elite Eights and Final Fours and has played for the national championship.

"To be able to beat them in the way we did, our guys were just really tough and never gave in. Theirs were the same way. We have the utmost respect for their players, coaching staff and program. They're a very, very hard team to beat.

"At the end I was honestly thinking what a horrible way to end the season. They counted the basket and I was thinking how was I was going to go to the locker room and tell my guys what a great job they did. They would've tuned me out and rightfully so. When the referee waved it off I went from one emotion to the other. I was just very happy for our guys. I'm just glad they had the technology to review it and make the right call. Five or six years ago we'd be going home right now."

The victory in the outstanding first-round game, which featured 13 lead changes and 11 ties, improved Wheeling Jesuit to 24-7 and puts them in Sunday's 5 p.m. semifinals against second-seeded Shippensburg (27-3) which eliminated seventh-seeded Virginia Union.

West Liberty, which had won five of the last six regional titles and had played in three of the last four Final Fours, was seeking its eighth consecutive appearance in the Sweet 16. The opening-round regional loss, however, was the first for West Liberty since 2007.

"It's tough to lose a tough game like that," West Liberty coach Jim Crutchfield said. "Obviously I'm proud of my team. They played really hard. Sometimes basketball games come down to a tenth-of-a-second or a banked shot in the corner or a rebound you try to secure and don't quite get to. After 45 minutes that's what happened today. It was just a tough loss."

West Liberty played the game without backup guard Brady Arnold, who injured his foot in practice this week and leading scorer, Dan Monteroso, who left the contest at the 13:42 mark of the opening half with a hamstring injury and never returned.

That left much of the onus to score on the Hilltoppers' Hoehn and David Dennis, who both responded with 30-point games to keep West Liberty in it. Dennis also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds and tied for game-high assist honors with five.

West Liberty, which finished its season at 28-4, also got 16 points from Clay Guillozet and 11 points from James Griffin.

Wheeling had a chance to win the game in regulation when Chase Lawson stripped the ball from Dennis and threw it ahead to teammate Pat Moseh at midcourt with 3.2 seconds left. Moseh drove in under pressure and missed the layup as the horn ending regulation sounded.

"To be honest I was distraught," Moseh said. "My teammates brought me in and said 'Play goes on.' Coach Sancomb brought me in and told me he loved me and that play goes on. It was the next play mentality for me and that's how I tried to approach overtime."

In overtime, Dennis made one-of-two free throws with 20 seconds left to give his team a 95-93 lead. At the other end Wheeling ran some clock before Kyle Ritz spotted Boswell open on the right wing and the youngster drained the biggest shot of his college career to date.

"I owe it to my teammates. We all work so hard," Boswell said. "Kyle (Ritz) made a great pass and I was open. Coach always says shoot it if you're open. It was a big situation. I had to shoot it."

Moseh and Haywood Highsmith combined to lead WJU with 23 points apiece. Highsmith also grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds. The Cardinals also got 18 points from Boswell and 10 from Ritz.