WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University men's basketball team moved to #9 in the latest NABC Coaches Poll and has turned its attention fully to conference play for the final 16 games of the regular season beginning with a road trip to Concord tonight.

THE BASICS
January 4, 2023 | 7:30 pm | Carter Center (Athens, W.Va.)
#9 West Liberty (11-1, 6-0 MEC) at Concord (7-3, 4-2 MEC)
Live coverage will be available here.

THE HILLTOPPERS
West Liberty returned to action after the holiday break with a 103-78 win at Bowie State in the 'Toppers non-conference finale. WLU started slowly but quickly regained the lead and never looked back, ending the game holding a double-digit lead that stretched to as much as 30 throughout the second half. The Hilltoppers made 15 three-pointers and capitalized on 15 turnovers by Bowie State, scoring 23 points off of them. Bryce Butler led four West Liberty double-digit scorers with 23 points, Malik McKinney had a game-high 5 assists with 14 points, while Zach Rasile and Christian Montague ended with 14 and 11 points, respectively.
 
The Hilltoppers are second in the country in scoring offense netting 99 points per game, behind Nova Southeastern at 107.2 per game. They have eclipsed the century mark five times. The high scoring comes mainly from beyond the arc, as WLU hoists the most three pointers per game (33.8) and makes the second most (12.2) for a 36.0% mark from deep. On the misses, West Liberty is right there to clean it up ranking 11^th in DII in offensive rebounds per game, at 14.17. Overall, the 'Toppers hold a +3.8-rebounding margin on average, the second-best clip in the MEC.
 
On the defensive end, West Liberty is holding opponents to 78.4 points per game and 48.2% shooting with a 30.3% mark from three. The Black and Gold force the fourth most turnovers per game in the country, at 19.83, and average a +7.8-turnover margin.
 
West Liberty averages 22.6 assists per game, the second most in DII, and has the third best assist-to-turnover ratio, at 1.87. WLU has had 20-plus in nine of its 12 games with a season-high 33 coming in the 121-54 win over West Virginia Wesleyan. The Hilltoppers hold spots 1, 2, 3, and 5 in the MEC individual rankings for assist-to-turnover ratio with Cannady (3.70), Montague (2.94), McKinney (2.57), and Alek West (2.00) on the list.
 
Butler, a junior guard, was atop the 'Toppers scoring column and had 20-plus points for the sixth straight game at Bowie State, with 23. The Latrobe, Pa native leads DII with 120 made field goals, ranks third in points per game (23.9), and is 20th with a 61.5% field goal percentage. He also leads the Hilltoppers on the glass averaging 6.8 rebounds per game. Butler has made two three pointers in each of the last three games. The reigning MEC Player of the Year, he has 10 games with 20-plus and a trio of 30-point games this season. Butler posted three double-doubles with the most recent being a 25-point, 10-rebound outing at Charleston on December 7.  Butler has earned three MEC Player of the Week awards in addition to a D2CIDA National Player of the Week honor on December 13 after his game-winning basket went through with seconds remaining in the battle against West Virginia State.
 
Four players join Butler averaging double-digits. McKinney (12.2), Cannady (11.9), Montague (10.5), and Ben Sarson (10.1) complete the starting five all above 10 points per game.
 
Montague hit three long balls and is shooting 48.1% from deep. He has made a triple in all but one game this season and is averaging 2.17 per game. Off the bench, Rasile also averages 2.17 triples a game and is shooting 41.3% scoring 9.8 points per game.
 
A graduate transfer from Mercyhurst, Cannady is a tick above 40% from deep and is converting 52.5% of his shots from the floor. McKinney (52.2%) and Chaz Hinds (52.1%) also make over half their shot attempts.
 
Eight players average over 14 minutes per game for the Black and Gold.

THE MOUNTAIN LIONS
Concord enters on a five-game win streak, which featured an 86-83 defeat of then #19 Fairmont State. In conference action, CU bounced back from opening losses to Charleston (82-77) and West Virginia State (85-80) with four straight wins including a most recent 93-82 win at Frostburg State on December 10. Concord is 5-1 on its home court this season, the only loss being in the home opener to Charleston.
 
The Mountain Lions are leading the conference and rank 14^th in DII in rebounds per game, at 41.83, 12.92 of which come on the offensive end.
 
Concord averages a -2.8 scoring margin, netting 77.8 points per game, and allowing 80.6. The Mountain Cats are 10^th (of 12) in the MEC in field goal percentage (43.3%) but have stayed in games by holding opponents to 42% shooting, the second-best mark in the conference. They scored 80 or more points in eight games and have a 7-1 record when doing so.
 
Most of the shots are taken inside the arc for CU, averaging 18 three-point attempts per game connecting on 32.6% of them for just under six makes per game.
 
Graduate student Laual Rahama leads the team in scoring and on the glass, averaging 16.1 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, which ranks second in the MEC. The 6'5" forward has posted a pair of double-doubles this season and scored 13-plus in all but one game.
 
Junior 6'5" guard JJ Harper scores 13.0 points per game off the bench for CU. He has 11 three pointers on the year and is shooting 47.8% from deep, leading the team. Senior guard Ethan Heller has the most triples for the Mountain Lions, with 14, and is shooting 32.6% beyond the arc. Heller (9.1), Jordan Wooden (9.4), and Jevon Laidler (9.9) round out five players averaging over nine points a game.
 
The Mountain Lions competed in a pair of exhibition contests against DI Kent State and Akron over the winter break.

THE SERIES
The Hilltoppers own the all-time edge 47-32 and have won 18 of the 22 meetings as MEC foes. Inside the Carter Center, WLU is nine for its last 12 with the most recent loss being 91-83 in late January 2021. Last season, the Hilltoppers handled the Mountain Lions by 21 on the road and 18 at home.

NEXT UP
West Liberty returns to the hilltop on Saturday for the first time since December 10 to take on Glenville State at 7:30 pm inside the ASRC.

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