KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The West Liberty University men's basketball team made history on Tuesday when the Mountain East Conference pace-setters moved up to No. 4 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) weekly NCAA Division Top 25.
    That lofty ranking marked a significant milestone for Coach Ben Howlett's Hilltoppers (20-2) as it was the 100^th time West Liberty men's basketball had been ranked among the Top 5 nationally. The Black and Gold joined Kentucky Wesleyan and Northwest Missouri State as the only current NCAA Division II programs with 100 or more Top 5 appearances since the first poll was released during the 1960-61 season.
    It's also the 162^nd Top 10 national ranking for the Hilltoppers, trailing only Kentucky Wesleyan's record 258 Top 10 appearances on the all-time list, and the 199^th time West Liberty has earned a Top 25 ranking – a number reached by only six other schools.
    The Hilltoppers strengthened their hold on the top spot in the MEC standings last week with back-to-back impressive wins over two of their top challengers. West Liberty ended West Virginia State's 10-game winning streak with a 96-84 victory on Wednesday before going down to Charleston on Saturday and completing a season sweep of the Golden Eagles by a 96-82 tally.
    Nova Southeastern (20-0), the nation's only remaining unbeaten squad, moved into the No. 1 spot this week after previous front-runner Lubbock Christian (20-1) suffered its first loss of the season, a 75-73 setback against Dallas Baptist. Northwest Missouri State (21-2) moved up to No. 2 with Lubbock Christian barely holding off the Hilltoppers for No. 3. UNC Pembroke (20-1) rounded out this week's Top 5.
    Fairmont State (18-3), only a game back of WLU in the conference standings, moved up to No. 10 in this week's national rankings. Atlantic Region rivals Indiana, Pa. (19-2) and Mercyhurst (19-4) joined the Hilltoppers and Falcons in the poll at No. 7 and No. 20, respectively, with Pitt-Johnstown 19-4) joining the list of teams also receiving votes.
    West Liberty returns to action on Wednesday when WLU hosts Glenville State in a 7:30 p.m. game inside the ASRC.
       Team (FPV)                                                 Rec          Pts       Pvs
  1. Nova Southeastern (16)                       20-0         400           2
  2. NW Missouri State                                21-2         378           4
  3. Lubbock Christian                                  20-1         356           1
  4. WEST LIBERTY                                        20-2         352           5
  5. UNC Pembroke                                      20-1         333           6
  6. Minnesota-Duluth                                 21-2         310           7
  7. Indiana, Pa.                                             19-2         305           8
  8. CSU-San Bernardino                              17-2         294           3
  9. Augustana, S.D.                                      19-2         276         11
10. FAIRMONT STATE                                 18-3         260         12
11. Lincoln Memorial, Tenn.                      18-3         218         14
12. Ferris State, Mich.                                 18-3         211         15
13. Central Oklahoma                                 19-3         204         16
14. Chico State, Calif.                                  14-3         196         10
15. Queens, N.C.                                          20-3         183         17
16. CSU-San Marcos                                    14-3         162           9
17. Flagler, Fla.                                             18-3         139         21
18. Augusta, Ga.                                           18-3         125         23
19. Upper Iowa                                             20-4         100         19
20. Mercyhurst, Pa.                                     19-4           88         25
21. Bentley, Mass.                                        15-3           85         18
22. Union, Tenn.                                           18-4           62        NR
23. Regis, Colo.                                             16-4           51         13
24. West Texas A&M                                   20-5           46         20
25. Dominican, N.Y.                                     15-4           26         24
     Others receiving votes: Daemen (N.Y.) 11, Barry (Fla.) 5, Hillsdale (Mich.) 5, Fort Hays State (Kan.) 4, Saint Anselm (N.H.) 4, West Alabama 4, Biola (Calif.) 2, Miles (Ala.) 2, Pitt-Johnstown (Pa.) 2, SE Oklahoma State 1.