LAKELAND (Interstat) — Myles Montgomery scored 20 points and West Liberty built a large first-half lead before holding off Washburn for a 91-85 men’s NCAA Division II victory Sunday at the SCB HOF Classic. Attendance was 107. West Liberty improved to 1-1, and Washburn fell to 1-1. West Liberty rebounded from a season-opening loss at Florida Southern, while Washburn had opened with a home win over Point Loma Nazarene. Montgomery had 10 points and four assists in the opener.

West Liberty opened with a 9-0 run and never trailed in the first half. Cameron Williams started the burst with a layup, Aiden Davis followed with another layup, Montgomery hit a 3-pointer and Cody Schmitz made two free throws. Davis hit a 3-pointer at 16:09 to make it 12-2, and Montgomery hit another 3-pointer at 13:52 for a 15-2 lead. West Liberty led 22-4 after Judson Coan made a 3-pointer at 11:25. The Hilltoppers led 50-26 at halftime after Coan closed the half with a 3-pointer. West Liberty shot 30 of 59 from the floor, 13 of 30 from 3-point range and 18 of 25 from the free throw line. Washburn shot 28 of 57 overall, 8 of 25 from beyond the arc and 21 of 33 from the line. The Hilltoppers scored 91 points on 76 possessions for an offensive rating of 119.9, while the Ichabods scored 85 points on 78 possessions for an offensive rating of 109.4.

Washburn mounted a second-half comeback behind Tyson Ruud, who led all scorers with 25 points and 13 rebounds to go with one assist and one block. Jack Bachelor and Brody Owen helped fuel the charge with timely 3-pointers, and Tyler Salmon added 13 points and one block. Washburn outscored West Liberty 59-41 after halftime. The Ichabods cut the deficit to 84-79 on Bachelor’s 3-pointer with 1:37 remaining, and a free throw by Salmon made it 84-80. Montgomery answered with a layup, but Ruud hit a jumper and Bachelor made two free throws to bring Washburn within 86-83. Montgomery made two free throws, Owen made two free throws for the Ichabods, and Cameron Williams made one free throw before Landon Butler sealed the game with two free throws.

Montgomery finished with 20 points, four rebounds and five assists for West Liberty. Cody Schmitz added 14 points, five rebounds and three assists, and Landon Butler had 12 points, five rebounds and three assists. Jack Bachelor finished with 15 points, three rebounds and two assists for Washburn, while Brody Owen had 14 points, one rebound and five assists. Peter Lattos contributed seven points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks for the Hilltoppers. Cameron Williams and Aiden Davis each scored 13 for West Liberty, and Tyler Salmon added 13 points and one block for Washburn.

West Liberty held a 21-16 advantage in points off turnovers and a 9-5 edge in fastbreak points. Washburn had advantages of 36-34 in points in the paint, 10-5 in assists, 3-2 in blocks and 9-8 in offensive rebounds. West Liberty committed 13 turnovers to Washburn’s 14, and the Hilltoppers were called for 25 fouls to the Ichabods’ 16. The teams combined for 27 turnovers and 41 fouls in the game. The Hilltoppers finished with eight offensive rebounds and two blocks. West Liberty closed out the win at the free throw line after Washburn had trimmed the lead to one possession in the final two minutes.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of West Liberty 90, Washburn 79, while Interstat’s ELO system had projected Washburn with a 72.5 percent probability to win.