Men's Basketball | 7/19/2018 12:45:00 PM

    WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – Nothing succeeds like success so it came as no surprise when more than 100 boys' basketball players from Grades 4-12 flooded into the ASRC this week for the West Liberty University men's basketball team's annual Hilltopper Basketball Camp.
    Fresh off another Mountain East Conference championship, MEC Coach of the Year Ben Howlett and a crack staff of current and former coaches supplemented by members of the current WLU squad spent the better part of four days helping the future stars enhance their offensive skills.
    "It was a great week with a terrific group of kids," Howlett said. "I don't know the exact total off the top of my head but we had somewhere between 110 and 120 campers this year. We had a lot of repeat campers, which is great, and also saw a bunch of new faces. I did notice a few more younger kids than in past years so we hope to be part of their summers for years to come."
    Howlett's Hilltoppers were the only NCAA Division II team in the nation to average more than 100 points a game last year. That marked the 10th national scoring title in the past 13 seasons for WLU, which goes a long way toward explaining the growth of West Liberty's offensive development camp.
    The Hilltopper head coach believes another factor is the opportunity for the campers to interact on a one-on-one basis with the Hilltopper players.
    "A lot of the local campers come out to almost every one of our games," Howlett said, "so they know our players and kind of look up to them. I'm really proud of our guys for the way they've embraced that opportunity and served as positive role models. I think they get as much of a kick out of working the camp as the campers."
    After earning their ninth consecutive NCAA Tournament bid a year ago, the Hilltoppers will tip off the 2018-19 season at home on Nov. 9-10 in the annual MEC/PSAC Challenge. Perennial Atlantic Region powers Kutztown and West Chester will provide the opposition.