WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The fifth ranked West Liberty University men's basketball team is set to take on West Virginia Wesleyan tonight in front of the home crowd looking to continue its strong start to the season.

THE BASICS
November 30, 2022 | 7:30 pm | Academic, Sports, and Recreation Complex (West Liberty, W.Va.)
West Virginia Wesleyan (0-5, 0-2 MEC) vs. #5 West Liberty (5-0, 2-0 MEC)
Live stats and video links can be viewed here.

THE HILLTOPPERS
It's been a perfect, 5-0, start for West Liberty resulting in a jump in the national rankings from eight to five. The Hilltoppers have played four of their five contests inside the ASRC and are coming off a 107-83 victory over Notre Dame last Tuesday.
 
West Liberty broke open a halftime tie against NDC with an 8-0 run to open the second half en route to the 24-point win. Ben Sarson scored 24 points and pulled down nine boards to lead the Black and Gold. Bryce Butler netted 21 points, also had nine rebounds, six of which on the offensive end, and dished out a game-high seven assists.
 
Butler leads an offense that scores the fourth-most points per game in the country (99.0) at 24.4 points, which individually ranks eighth in DII and second in the MEC. The junior guard has a pair of double-doubles on the season and has recorded an assist and steal in every game. He also is atop the team leaderboard in rebounds, at 8.2 per game, and field goal percentage (63.9%).
 
Four 'Toppers, along with Butler, net double digits, Steve Cannady leads the team in long balls with 13 and a 48.1% mark from deep while averaging 13.8 points per game. Sarson boosted his season mark up to 11.0 a game after the team-leading performance last time out, while Christian Montague and Malik McKinney score it at a 10.2 and 10.0 average through the opening five games.
 
The Hilltoppers hoist the nation's most three pointers per game at 35.6 and convert at a 33.7% rate, led by Cannady. West Liberty puts up 78.6 shots a game, 18 more than its opposition.
 
On the glass, the Black and Gold have a +8.0 margin, they dish out 23.4 assists per game (the second most in DII), and have a +7.8 turnover margin. Montague leads the squad with 21 assists.


THE BOBCATS
West Virginia Wesleyan has had a rough go of it in the early season, yet to find its elusive first win. A trio of PSAC schools, including Pitt-Johnstown, Lock Haven, and California (Pa.) all handled the Bobcats by 20+ points. Then, in conference play a tough 60-59 loss at Frostburg State preceded last Tuesday's home-opening loss to nationally ranked Fairmont State.
 
The Bobcats have a -20.6 scoring margin, netting just 60.6 points per game. Opponents have drained 50.5% of their field goal attempts against WVWC compared to a 36.2% mark for the Bobcats. Graduate student guard Darius Green leads the offense at 17.4 points per game. Tyler Stone adds 14.2 per game and has a team-high 14 three pointers connecting on 43.8% of his shots beyond the arc. Anthony Craven, Jr. rounds out the trio of double-digit scorers for WVWC, who all shoot over 40% from the field, at 13.0 per game.
 
While having a -7.8-rebounding margin, Wesleyan has pulled down eight more offensive rebounds than their opponents. The stretch forward, Stone is the team's top board getter at 7.2 a game.
 
The Bobcats average 9.6 assists per game and turn the ball over 19.2 times for a 0.5 assist-to-turnover ratio.

THE SERIES
The Hilltoppers swept the season series last year, 109-65 at home and 120-72 on the road. They have won the last four matchups against the Bobcats, along with 23 of the last 24. All-time the series dates back to 1934-35 and the Black and Gold holds a 74-67 advantage.

NEXT UP
West Liberty travels to Davis and Elkins on Saturday for a 4 pm tipoff.

Follow Hilltopper basketball all season online at HilltopperSports.com and on Twitter (@WLU_Hoops | @WLathletics), Instagram (@wlu_mbb | @wlu_athletics), and Facebook.