For Bryce Butler and Ben Howlett, the second time around was much better.
Butler, a Latrobe native and West Liberty junior guard, and Howlett, the Hilltoppers’ sixth-year head coach, first led their small West Virginia university to the NCAA Division II men’s basketball tournament Elite Eight in 2021 and were handed a crushing 22-point loss by eventual national champion Northwest Missouri State.
The two found themselves on that same Ford Center court in Evansville, Ind., Tuesday on the other end of that equation.
No. 2-seeded West Liberty got balanced scoring with four players in double figures and dominated No. 7 New Haven (23-11) defensively to the tune of a 95-58 victory in which the Hilltoppers never trailed and earned their first trip to the Final Four since 2016.
“It’s a loss of words, honestly, playing a game that big, having that margin of victory,” Butler said. “It was a heck of a team win, too. We really shared the ball well.”
It was the 17th consecutive victory for West Liberty (32-2), which is continuing its 14th consecutive NCAA tournament run after the lopsided victory against a New Haven team that made its first Elite Eight appearance in school history.
Sophomore guard Zach Rasile scored a game-high 14 points for West Liberty, while Butler contributed 13, Christian Montague added 11 and forward Finley Woodward pitched in with 10 points.
West Liberty shot 51% from the field and made 16 of 36 3-pointers. The Hilltoppers’ tough full-court press defense forced 26 turnovers.
Guards Quashawn Lane and Kendall McMillan paced New Haven with 12 points each, while forward Tyrone Perry added 11 points. Chargers senior center Majur Majak, a 7-foot-1 center, was held to four points, but grabbed 18 rebounds.
“Sitting in a 2-3 zone with the big 7-footer in the middle of the paint, baskets under the hoops kind of came at a premium today,” Butler said.
West Liberty advances to play No. 3 Black Hills State, which defeated No. 6 seed Minnesota-Duluth, 86-68, Tuesday in Evansville. The Final Four contest between the Hilltoppers and Yellow Jackets will tip off at 2 p.m. Thursday in Evansville.
Senior guard Matthew Ragsdale scored a game-high 25 points to lead Black Hills State (29-5), which received an at-large bid to the tournament after bowing out of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament in the semifinals.
Senior forward Joel Scott added 23 points for Black Hills State, while Sindou Cisse and Ryker Cisarik each scored 13 points.
The Hilltoppers had advanced to the Final Four prior to this season four times, including runs in 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2016. The program’s lone national title game appearance came in 2014 and ended with an 84-77 loss to Central Missouri.
“It feels great,” Butler said. “Hard work is paying off, we’re not satisfied yet.
“To get to Thursday, you’ve got to win Tuesday,” he added, “and now to get to Saturday you’ve got to win Thursday.”
West Liberty took control of its Elite Eight contest early. The Hilltoppers used a 24-4 scoring run through the game’s first 10 minutes to assert their pace of play from the outset.
Montague, Steve Cannady, Our Lady of Sacred Heart graduate Dante Spadafora and Zach Rasile each made 3-pointers during the run.
West Liberty also forced New Haven into seven turnovers in the span. The Chargers committed just three turnovers in their East regional final victory against Bentley.
“Really fast start,” Butler said. “I think we kind of surprised them a little bit with how much pressure we could apply. A lot of teams will throw seven or eight guys on the court [in practice] to prepare for us. I think we kind of just surprised them there early.”
While New Haven eventually settled into the game, only being outscored, 21-17, over the remainder of the half, it wasn’t enough to get back into the game.
Butler led all first-half scorers with 11 points, while Montague scored eight, Cannady added seven and Spadafora contributed six.
The Hilltoppers made 7 of 16 3-pointers in the first half and shot 51% from the field.
Spadafora finished with 9 points on 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc as a reserve.
John is a copy editor and page designer at the Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at jsanta@unionprogress.com.