KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The West Liberty University men's basketball team rode its 11-game winning streak back to a spot in the NCAA Division II Top 25 Tuesday afternoon when the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) put WLU at No. 20 in its latest set of weekly rankings.
    Coach Ben Howlett's Hilltoppers (17-3) saw their NCAA Division II record 149-week streak of consecutive Top 25 appearances halted in mid-December after a road loss at Charleston but haven't lost since, outscoring their opponents by an average of 30.6 ppg. while reeling off 11 consecutive wins.
    The Black and Gold added two more blowout wins to the list last week with a 100-73 thumping of Urbana on Wednesday followed by a 97-67 romp at West Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon as the two-time defending Mountain East Conference champions preserved their one-game lead in the MEC standings.
    West Liberty wasn't the only MEC squad to make a return to the national rankings on Tuesday as Charleston (17-3), which has won 11 of its last 12 outings, also jumped back into the poll at No. 25. The Hilltoppers and Golden Eagles are set to collide on Sunday in an NCAA Division II Basketball Showcase event at the ASRC. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.
    Both teams have more immediate MEC challenges to contend with on Wednesday before their weekend showdown. The Hilltoppers make the long trek south to fast-rising West Virginia State (14-5) while UC welcomes upset-minded Wheeling (10-8) to the Wehrle Center. Both games are set for 7:30 p.m. tipoffs.
       Team (FPV)                                                 Rec          Pts       Pvs
  1. NW Missouri State (16)                        20-1         400           1
  2. Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.)                    21-1         380           2
  3. West Texas A&M                                   21-1         368           3
  4. UC-San Diego                                          21-1         356           4
  5. Nova Southeastern (Fla.)                     16-2         333           6
  6. Florida Southern                                    19-2         321           7
  7. Azusa Pacific (Calif.)                              16-3         289           9
  8. St. Edward's (Texas)                              19-2         285         10
  9. Indiana (Pa.)                                           18-2         269           5
10. Jefferson (Pa.)                                        19-2         255         12
11. Bridgeport (Conn.)                                17-2         234         14
12. Bellarmine (Ky.)                                     16-3         217           8
13. Missouri-St. Louis                                  20-2         215         15
14. St. Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.)                   18-3         188         17
15. Grand Valley State (Mich.)                  18-3         156         20
16. Point Loma (Calif.)                                 16-3         145         23
17. Ferris State (Mich.)                               21-4         143         11
18. Valdosta State (Ga.)                              16-3         118         25
19. Missouri Southern                                 16-4           92         13
20. WEST LIBERTY                                        17-3           74        NR
21. Alabama-Huntsville                               17-4           69         16
22. Dixie State (Utah)                                  17-4           46         19
23. Cal State-San Bernardino                     17-4           43        NR
24. Chico State (Calif.)                                 16-4           41         18
25. CHARLESTON                                         17-3           39        NR
       Others receiving votes: Rogers State (Okla.) 25, Walsh (Ohio) 18, SE Oklahoma State 15, UNC-Pembroke 13, Lander (S.C.) 11, Lee (Tenn.) 10, Shippensburg (Pa.) 10, Indianapolis (Ind.) 8, Sioux Falls (S.D.) 4, Angelo State (Texas) 3, Pitt-Johnstown (Pa.) 3, Northern State (S.D.) 2, Black Hills State (S.D.) 1, Cal Poly-Pomona 1.