KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The West Liberty University men's basketball rode a trio of dominating performances back into the NCAA Division II Top 25 on Tuesday when the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) released its weekly NCAA Division II Top 25.
    Coach Ben Howlett's Hilltoppers (7-3) checked in at No. 23 this week after posting their third consecutive double-digit blowout in Mountain East Conference play.
    West Liberty, which had risen as high as No. 4 in the national coaches' poll earlier in the season, continued its recent resurgence with two more lopsided wins last week. The Black and Gold opened with a 117-78 blowout of Alderson Broaddus on Wednesday before blasting Davis & Elkins, 111-64, on Sunday afternoon.
    Once again leading the nation in scoring at 104.9 ppg., the Hilltoppers have outscored their last three opponents by an average margin of 115-76. This week's No. 23 ranking marks the Hilltoppers' 184^th NCAA Division II Top 25 appearance.
    West Liberty is one of four MEC teams receiving Top 25 votes this week. Charleston (7-2), which leads the MEC South Division, is ranked No. 22 with Fairmont State and Glenville State listed among the teams also receiving votes.
    Coach Howlett and his Hilltoppers look to keep on rolling Wednesday night when they host Ohio County rival Wheeling. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. inside the ASRC.
       Team (FPV)                                                      Rec           Pts        Pvs
  1. Colorado School of Mines (13)            10-0          396             1
  2. Northern State (S.D.) (2)                         12-0          383             2
  3. NW Missouri State (1)                             14-1          371             3
  4. Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.)                       15-1          351             4
  5. West Texas A&M                                         7-1          330             5
  6. Truman State (Mo.)                                  12-1          313             7
  7. Mercyhurst (Pa.)                                          7-0          303             8
  8. Colorado Mesa                                           13-1          289             9
  9. Lubbock Christian (Texas)                      12-0          272          10
10. Alabama-Huntsville                                    8-1          251          11
11. Hillsdale (Mich.)                                         13-1          246          12
12. Findlay (Ohio)                                             12-2          212             6
13. Texas A&M-Kingsville                              13-1          196          14
14. Point Loma (Calif.)                                       3-0          187          13
15. Dallas Baptist (Texas)                               12-2          180          15
16. Washburn (Kan.)                                       12-3          153          17
17. St. Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.)                        2-0          143          19
18. NW Nazarene (Idaho)                                8-1             94          23
19. Lee (Tenn.)                                                     9-2             91          18
20. Queens (N.C.)                                                9-4             87          16
21. Flagler (Fla.)                                                   8-2             61         NR
22. CHARLESTON                                                7-2             51         NR
23. WEST LIBERTY                                              7-3             46         NR
24. Gannon (Pa.)                                                 4-0             31         NR
25. Valdosta State (Ga.)                                 10-4             28          20
        Others receiving votes: Sioux Falls (S.D.) 27, FAIRMONT STATE 21, Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) 20, Dominican (N.Y.) 16, Azusa Pacific (Calif.) 11, Southern Indiana 7, GLENVILLE STATE 6, St. Edward's (Texas) 6, Michigan Tech 5, Southern Arkansas 5, Union (Tenn.) 5, Oklahoma Baptist 4, Georgia College 2.