Senior Pierce Cumpstone posted the 18th double-double of his career to lead the Skyhawks. (PHOTO BY Vladimir Cherry)

Cumpstone's 14^th double-double nearly brings Skyhawks back from double-figure deficit

FRISCO, Texas (March 23, 2016) – Fourth-seeded West Liberty University, ranked No. 5 in the NABC Division II poll and 6^th in the D2SIDA Top 25 media poll, rode a quick 15-2 run midway through the second half and withstood a valiant rally from fifth-seeded Stonehill College down the stretch to hang on for a 75-74 victory in a national quarterfinal round matchup at the 2016 NCAA Division II Elite Eight, hosted by the Lone Star Conference and Frisco Convention & Visitors Bureau, at Dr. Pepper Arena this afternoon.

West Liberty (31-3, 20-3 Mountain East) advances to face top-seed Lincoln Memorial University (33-2, 22-0 SAC), ranked No. 1 in the NABC poll and No. 2 in the D2SIDA poll, in a National Semifinal here at Dr. Pepper Arena tomorrow night at 7 p.m. (EDT) The Railsplitters advanced with a comfortable 93-75 victory over eighth-seeded and No. 19/20-ranked Barry University (26-7, 12-4 SSC) in today's opening game. Stonehill sees its season come to a close with a 24-9 record overall, including 15-6 in the Northeast-10, having earned its 14^th NCAA Tournament bid before winning its third East Regional Championship to advance to the Elite Eight for the third time in the last ten years.

Senior Seger Bonifant (Berlin, Ohio/Hiland) posted a double-double to lead West Liberty with a game-high 22 points and 11 rebounds with four assists. He made 9-of-16 shots from the field and converted all four free-throws over 36 minutes of play before fouling out. Junior Devin Hoehn (Parkersburg, West Virginia/Parkersburg) scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half, finishing shooting 7-of-10 from the floor, including 2-for-5 from three-point distance, converting 3-of-4 free-throws, with five rebounds and three assists.

Freshman David Dennis, Jr. (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Harvest Prep) added 12 points, including ten in the second half, with three boards, three assists and three steals, while senior Mike Lamberti (McDonald, Pennsylvania/South Fayette) rounded out the West Liberty double-figure scorers with 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting, connecting on his lone three-pointer and converting all four free-throws with four rebounds.

Junior Ryan Logan totaled 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists. (PHOTO BY Vladimir Cherry)

Senior Pierce Cumpstone (Bainbridge Township, Ohio/Kenston) notched his 14^th double-double of the season (18^th career) to lead the way for Stonehill as he scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half on 6-of-10 shooting, including 5-for-7 from beyond the arc, converting 4-of-6 free-throws with ten rebounds. Cumpstone finished just four points shy of the 1,000-point mark for his career, ending with 996 points, 605 rebounds and 126 blocked shots in an even 100 games.

Junior Ryan Logan (Fredericktown, Ohio/Fredericktown) added 14 points on 6-of-14 shooting with eight rebounds and five assists, while senior Adam Bramanti (Middleton, Massachusetts/Masconomet) registered 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including 2-for-5 from deep, converting all three free-throws. Senior Carter Smith (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) finished with 11 points, three assists and two rebounds. Bramanti capped his career ranked fifth in program history with 180 three-point field goals, while Smith moved into 14^th place on the program's career scoring list with 1,370 points in 114 games, finishing third all-time with 234 three-pointers to go with 304 assists and 106 steals over his career.

West Liberty finished shooting 45.2-percent from the field (28-for-62), including 50% (16-32) in the second half, converting 13-of-15 (86.7%) free-throws. The Hilltoppers were limited to 6-for-24 shooting from three-point range (25%), but turned the ball over just five times to help in producing a 14-4 advantage in points off. Stonehill shot 43.6% (24-55) from the field, including 52% (13-25) in the second half, connecting on 11-of-23 three-pointers (47.8%), including 6-for-12 (50%) over the final 20 minutes. The Skyhawks made just 15-of-21 (71.4%) free-throws, but produced a 14-5 advantage in second chance points despite being edged on the glass 36-34.

Stonehill trailed by just two at halftime despite shooting just 36.7% (11-for-30) from the field, but West Liberty quickly pushed its lead to seven (39-32) after a three-pointer by Lamberti less than three minutes in. The Hilltoppers lead was still six (41-35) a minute later before Stonehill used an 8-2 spurt, sparked by three-pointers from Bramanti and sophomore Joel Berroa (Lawrence, Massachusetts/Central Catholic) before drawing even on a Smith layup with 14:08 to play.

Dennis, Jr., answered with a layup at the other side, but Stonehill pulled even again (45-45) on a Daniel Brix (Monroe Township, New Jersey/St. Joseph) layup with 13:27 remaining. The Skyhawks had a chance to take their first lead since midway through the first half, but Logan was whistled for a charge in the lane and West Liberty reeled off ten straight as part of 15-2 run that opened a 13 point lead (60-47) after five straight points from Hoehn with 8:55 remaining. Hoehn scored nine of his 19 points during that five minute stretch, while Dennis, Jr., chipped in with four.

West Liberty's advantage will still 13 (63-50) with 8:17 on the clock when Stonehill scored six straight to pull within seven (63-56) following two free-throws by Smith with 5:42 still to play. Bonifant converted a three-point play at the other end to restore a double digit lead, but the Skyhawks wouldn't go down without a fight and closed within two possessions (68-63) when senior Josh Heyliger (Queens, New York/The Hill School) split a pair of free-throws with four minutes to go.

Stonehill sliced the deficit to three (70-67) after two Cumpstone free-throws with 1:13 on the clock, but West Liberty got a jumper from Hoehn and then converted four straight free-throws to keep the Skyhawks at bay (74-69) with 16-seconds remaining. Smith pulled Stonehill back within three once more (74-71) with eight seconds on the clock and after a quick foul, Hoehn made one of two to seal the win with seven seconds to go before Cumpstone capped the scoring with a three-pointer with 1.6-left.

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