Men's Basketball | 2/11/2020 3:42:00 PM

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The West Liberty University men's basketball team checked in at No. 25 on Tuesday afternoon when the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) released its latest NCAA Division II national Top 25 poll.
    Coach Ben Howlett's Hilltoppers (18-4) dropped a Wednesday road game at West Virginia State but rebounded with an impressive 89-79 victory against then-No. 25-ranked Charleston on Sunday in the NCAA D2 Basketball Showcase event from the ASRC to stay in the national rankings for the second straight week.
    West Liberty saw its NCAA record 149-week streak of consecutive Top 25 appearances come to an end in mid-December but that record seems certain to remain on the books for years to come. Bellarmine (Ky.) replaced WLU as the team with the longest Top 25 run but a pair of losses this week knocked the Kentucky team out of the poll, ending its streak at 90 weeks.
    No. 1-ranked Northwest Missouri State is now the owner of the nation's longest streak at 66 weeks with No. 3 West Texas A&M a distant second at 44 consecutive weeks.
    The Hilltoppers' win against Charleston put WLU back in the driver's seat of the Mountain East Conference race. The two-time defending champions now hold a two-game lead with just six regular-season games remaining.
    West Liberty returns to action on Wednesday with a challenging road test at high-scoring Glenville State. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Waco Center.
       Team (FPV)                                                 Rec          Pts       Pvs
  1. NW Missouri State (16)                        22-1         400           1
  2. Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.)                    23-1         380           2
  3. West Texas A&M                                   23-1         368           3
  4. UC-San Diego                                          23-1         356           4
  5. Nova Southeastern (Fla.)                     18-2         333           5
  6. Florida Southern                                    21-2         322           6
  7. Azusa Pacific (Calif.)                              18-3         294           7
  8. St. Edward's (Texas)                              21-2         289           8
  9. Indiana (Pa.)                                           19-2         273           9
10. Jefferson (Pa.)                                        20-2         257         10
11. Bridgeport (Conn.)                                19-2         248         11
12. St. Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.)                   19-3         224         14
13. Valdosta State (Ga.)                              18-3         205         18
14. Missouri Southern                                 18-4         171         19
15. Dixie State (Utah)                                  19-4         158         22
16. Cal State-San Bernardino                     19-4         147         23
17. Point Loma (Calif.)                                 17-4         123         16
18. Grand Valley State (Mich.)                  19-4           86         15
19. Walsh (Ohio)                                          20-3           83        NR
20. Missouri-St. Louis                                  20-4           78         13
20. (tie) UNC-Pembroke                             18-4           78        NR
22. Lee (Tenn.)                                              18-4           54        NR
23. Ferris State (Mich.)                               22-5           53         17
24. Shippensburg (Pa.)                                19-4           50        NR
25. WEST LIBERTY                                        18-4           41         20
       Others receiving votes: Bellarmine (Ky.) 35, Indianapolis (Ind.) 25, Sioux Falls (S.D.) 22, Chico State (Calif.) 14, Cal Poly-Pomona 8, King (Tenn.) 8, Pitt-Johnstown (Pa.) 8, Dallas Baptist (Texas) 5, Seattle Pacific (Wash.) 3, Alabama-Huntsville 2, Angelo State (Texas) 1, Rogers State (Okla.) 1.