Photo by Kim North West Liberty’s Dante Spadafora cuts down his portion of the net inside the ASRC on Tuesday night following the Hilltoppers’ 101-90 victory over Gannon in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Championship Game.

WEST LIBERTY — West Liberty had been 0-5 all-time against Gannon heading into Tuesday night’s NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional championship game. That all changed after 40 minutes.

The top-seeded Hilltoppers (30-4) withstood an early three-point barrage from the Knights (27-7) and used a late 16-6 run to pull away for a 101-90 victory before a crowd of 1,422 fans packed inside the ASRC.

“I think so. This feels pretty good, so we’ll take this win over them,” West Liberty head coach Ben Howlett said of snapping the winless streak against Gannon, which included a 103-88 reversal last year in the second round of the Atlantic Regional in Erie, Pa.

With the coveted triumph, West Liberty advanced to the Elite 8 and earned a trip to Evansville, Ind., next week. It marks the eight trip to the Elite 8 for the ‘Toppers and the first since 2023 when the Black-and-Gold played for the national title against Nova Southeastern and former head coach Jim Crutchfield.

“The game went exactly as we thought it would. Up and down … an extremely up-tempo,” Howlett said. “We went in with a little different game plan for this team than what we’ve done in the past, and it worked for us.”

Gannon came out firing from long distance, but couldn’t pull away from West Liberty as the hosts hung tough and weathered the early onslaught.

“They were making shots and even though we weren’t making as many shots as them, we were still in the game,” Howlett said of the early going when the Knights connected on their first five trifectas, but went a cool 8-for-28 for the remainder of the game. “We knew that we would eventually go on a run and we did, but we let them back in before we pulled away in the second half.”

The second-half surge was led by Atlantic Regional MVP Kyler D’Augustino and Lanyc Shuler. The backcourt duo combined for 31 of their 49 total points in the second 20 minutes.

“It feels great,” D’Augustino said of the award, “but I wouldn’t have won it without all of my teammates.

“We knew there were going to be ups and downs the entire game … it’s a regional championship,” D’Augustino added. “We knew we couldn’t get too high or too low. We just went out and did what we do.”

Of his game-high 27 points, more than half came in the paint for the 6-1 sophomore. He had 55 points in three regional games.

“I just work off my teammates, try to find the open space and finish at the rim,” he said.

Shuler netted 17 of his 22 — one shy of his career-best of 23 — in the second half.

“I just had to stay in attack mode,” Shuler said in the difference between halves. “I realized how they were guarding me, so I had to adjust.”

Howlett praised the play of the 6-1 senior.

“He can play. He keeps getting better. From point A to point B he’s the fastest player we’ve had here at West Liberty,” Howlett allowed.

“He’s a winner. He’s a tough, hard-nosed kid,” Howlett said of D’Augustino.

With the score knotted at 55 early in the second half, West Liberty took the lead for good on an offensive rebound and putback by 6-6 freshman Kameron Tinsley. The Hilltoppers led 62-55 at the under-16 minute media timeout and extended the margin to 79-72 at the under-12 minute media stoppage.

Holding an 87-77 advantage with five minutes left to play, the Hilltoppers went on a 16-6 run to seal the deal.

The Elite 8 begins on March 25, with the semifinals set for March 27 and the championship game on 29. Pairings and seeds will be announced following the finals in all regionals.

TIP-INS

– The 30-win season is West Liberty’s seventh all-time. It also improved to a sparkling 19-1 in NCAA Tournament games inside the ASRC. They also moved to 38-15 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.

– The other Elite 8 appearances came in 2011-14, 2016, 2020, and 2023. They have played in five Final Fours (2011, 2013-14, 2016 and 2023). In 2014, they played in their first national championship contest. Their second came nine seasons later.