GLENVILLE – Glenville State battled eighth ranked West Liberty hard throughout Saturday's contest, but the resilient Pioneers fell to the Hilltoppers in the end, 101-90.
 
Despite being down a pair of key players, Glenville kept the contest within single digits for most all of the afternoon. West Liberty opened open strong with leads of 9-0 and 11-1, but GSC clawed back to cut the deficit to three at 28-25. At halftime, the Hilltoppers had built the lead back to nine at 53-44.
 
Glenville fought back in the second half, trimming the margin to only one on several occasions, the last being at 66-65 with 12:19 remaining in the game. West Liberty responded with a 4-0 run to gain some slight separation, and held that advantage for the remainder of the game.
 
GSC put four players in double figures, led John Williams JR., the current MEC scoring leader. Williams delivered 24 points, and was supported by Zane DeSouza and Luke LeRose with 14 points each, and Adrian Scarborough with 12. LeRose and Williams posted team highs of five rebounds, while Seth Fallon recorded a team leading three assists.
 
In team stats, Glenville shot 49.2% from the field (29-of-59), including a 12-of-32 night from beyond the arc (37.5%). The two squads were dead even in team rebounding at 32-32.
 
West Liberty was led by Pat Robinson with 24 points, followed by Marlon Mckinney with 15, Bryce Butler 14, Christian Montague 11, and Victor Kovacevic 10.
 
Glenville falls to 5-6 with the loss, and 2-5 in the MEC. Conference leading West Liberty improves to 13-1 overall, and 7-1 in the league.
 
Coach Justin Caldwell's Pioneers remain home for their next MEC game, hosting Davis & Elkins in Wednesday night at the Waco Center.