Men's Basketball | 3/23/2011 10:01:34 AM
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The West Liberty University men's basketball team has been ranked No. 1 in the nation for the past couple of months and leads the country in eight statistical categories but Coach
Jim Crutchfield knows that records and rankings won't put a single point on the MassMutual Center scoreboard this week.
Crutchfield's Hilltoppers (32-0) make their NCAA Division II Elite Eight championship debut Wednesday at 6 p.m. when they take on unranked Anderson, S.C. (21-11) in a national quarterfinal.
“We don't talk about records,” said Crutchfield, whose team has scored more points and made more 3-point shots than any team in the nation during his seven years at the helm. “It's never been our goal at West Liberty to score a lot of points. We're just trying to win games and our style sort of lends itself to that.
“We have four seniors who have been with the program all four years so we've kind of grown into a pretty good team. We probably don't look all that imposing when we're shooting around before the games – we haven't won a warmup all year – but they play very well together and that's been a big key to our success.”
It's been a special season for the Hilltoppers. The only undefeated team in the country, West Liberty is averaging an eye-popping 111.6 ppg., has outscored its opponents by an average of 31.3 ppg. and have already shattered the NCAA Division II single-season record with 473 3-point field goals.
All five West Liberty starters average double-figures with the four senior starters all having surpassed the 1,000-point milestone for their careers.
First-team All-American and Atlantic Region tournament MVP
Corey Pelle, a 5-11 point guard, leads the way at 16.7 ppg. and also ranks among the national leaders with 6.1 assists and 3.0 steals per game. He's joined in the backcourt by 6-5 seniors
Jordan Fortney (14.6 ppg.), a third-team All-American, and
Barry Shetzer (16.4 ppg.), a second-team All-Region pick. Jon Wolosinczuk, a 6-7 senior post who was the MVP of the WVIAC Tournament, averages 13.1 points and 7.4 rebounds a night while 6-4 sophomore
Alex Falk rounds out the starting lineup at 13.0 ppg.
First off the bench for the Hilltoppers are 5-7 sophomore guard
Tim Hausfeld (10.7 ppg.) and 6-6 sophomore post
Chris Morrow (9.6 ppg.).
Anderson carried a 14-10 record into the final two weeks of the regular season before finding its groove and rolling to the first regional championship and Elite Eight appearance in school history.
While Anderson has the most losses of any team in the Elite Eight, the Trojans' three wins against Top 10 teams – two against No. 10 Lincoln Memorial and one against No. 3 Augusta State – are more than the rest of the field combined.
As a result, even though the Trojans were the No. 7 seed coming into last week's Southeast Regional, head coach Jason Taylor isn't buying into the “Cinderella” label. Glass slippers usually don't fit very well on teams that knock off two Top 10 opponents in a four-day span to punch their ticket to Springfield.
“I think we prepared ourselves very well by playing as tough a schedule as anyone in the country,” Taylor said. “We had three wins against Top 10 teams this year and Augusta State (Ga.) was No. 3 in the nation when we beat them last week. We know we're going to see some outstanding teams this week but we've proven we have the ability to compete at this level.”
There are some similarities between West Liberty and Anderson's lineup. The Trojans also rely heavily on a veteran core of players and feature a balanced attack with five players averaging in double figures.
Denzail Jones, a speedy 5-9 freshman guard, is the team's leading scorer at 12.3 ppg. He's joined in the backcourt by 6-2 seniors Kevis Cornwell (12.2 ppg.) and Brandon Young (12.1 ppg.). Trey Britton, a 6-7 senior who averages 10.5 points and 4.8 rebounds a game is joined on the blocks by 6-7 junior Taylor Shugart (9.8 ppg., 6.5 rpg.).
Junior guard Nick Trull (10.4 ppg.) is the first guard off the bench. He led the team in scoring during the regional with more than 16 points per game. Other key reserves include long-range specialist Oskars Ernsteins (6.3 ppg.), a 6-4 senior, and 6-5 junior wing Tyrell McDowell (6.0 ppg.).
“We know we're facing a tough opponent,” Crutchfield said. “There aren't any bad teams in the Elite Eight and every team that made it here had to beat some really good teams to get here. We think we've prepared very well and our guys are excited about the opportunity. We're really looking forward to teeing it up tomorrow night at 6 p.m.”
Game Notes
