West Liberty, W.Va. – The No. 3 West Liberty University men's basketball team is looking for their fifth consecutive season opening win as they host Shippensburg and Seton Hill in this weekend's Atlantic Region Crossover event. The Hilltoppers tip-off the year against the Raiders on Friday evening with a 6 p.m. start time and conclude the weekend with an 8 p.m. tip against the Griffins on Saturday night.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: West Liberty, W.Va. (Academic Sports & Recreation Center "ASRC")
• Tip-Off: Friday at 6 P.M.; Saturday at 8 P.M.
• Tournament Central: For the complete weekend schedule and details visit the attached tournament central link above.

• West Liberty was a NCAA Division II Men's Basketball National Finalist for the second time in a decade last season, posting a 33-4 record overall and a 20-2 record in Mountain East Conference play.
• WLU won their sixth consecutive MEC title last season and their second straight MEC Men's Basketball Tournament Championship en route to 14^th straight NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament appearance (the longest active streak in NCAA DII).
• Since 2010 the Black & Gold have posted the best overall winning percentage in NCAA basketball (407-50, .891) and have the best home winning percentage (219-10 (.956).
• Entering the season West Liberty was picked first in the MEC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• In 37 games last season, West Liberty averaged 99.6 points, 37.3 rebounds, 21.9 assists, 10.4 steals, and 3.1 blocks per game, while shooting the ball 49.5 percent from the field, 38.4 percent from 3-point range, and 73.9 percent from the free throw line.
• Last season West Liberty led NCAA Division II in four statistical categories with a 1.93 assist/turnover ratio, 21.9 assists per game, 32.5 3-point field goal attempts per game, and a +7.6 turnover margin. The Hilltoppers also ranked second in the nation with 99.6 points per game and a +18.8 scoring margin.
• Second Team All-MEC selection, Christian Montague is the top returner from last season's squad, averaging 12.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.
• Joining Montague as key returners are Ben Sarson and Zach Rasile. Sarson averaged 10.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game a year ago, while Rasile averaged 9.3 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game.
• Newcomers for West Liberty this season include freshmen Kyler Daugustino, Garrison Kisner, and Terrance Pankey Jr., as well as transfers Darren Fergus (Molloy), Lanyc Shuler (Erskine), John Korte (Wheeling), and Ryan Reasbeck (Wheeling). Fergus was the East Coast Conference (ECC) Player of the Year last season, averaging 20.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game. Korte was a First Team All-MEC selection in 2022-23 while averaging 19.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
• Ben Howlett enters his seventh season as the head coach at West Liberty with a career record of 161-25 (.866) with the Hilltoppers. He holds the best winning percentage of coaches with a minimum of five years of experience across all NCAA divisions.

• Shippensburg posted a record of 19-11 overall and 16-6 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference in 2022-23, finishing as Co-East Division Champions in the league standings.
• The Raiders season ended in the semifinals of the PSAC Men's Basketball Conference Tournament, falling to No. 15 Mercyhurst (71-62) after defeating Lock Haven (75-54) in the quarterfinals.
• In 30 games last season the Raiders averaged 71.5 points, 38.5 rebounds, 12.2 assists, 5.8 steals, and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting the ball 43.3 percent from the field, 33.0 percent from 3-point range, and 76.2 percent from the free throw line.
• Entering the season Shippensburg was tabbed fifth in the East Division of the PSAC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Losing their top-4 players in points, rebounds, and minutes last season, Andrew Recchia is tasked with leading the team as the lone returning starter. In 2022-23 Recchia averaged 6.6 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game while playing 24.5 minutes per game in all 30 contests.
• Other key returners include Ty Crespo (4.6 ppg, 1.4 rpg), Denzel Figueroa (2.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg), and Michael Dunn (2.1 ppg).
• The Raiders bring in a pair of transfers Kamau Mitchell (Garrett JC) and Kyle Whippen (Kutztown), while welcoming three freshmen in Jackson Boone, Drew Sleva, and Najeh Allen.
• Chris Fite enters his 11^th season as the head coach at Shippensburg with a career record of 175-92 during his time with the Raiders.

• Shippensburg leads the all-time series 4-2 but the teams have split the last two meetings.
• The last meeting between the teams occurred March 10, 2018 in Petersburg, Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament. The Raiders claimed the 98-66 win in Ben Howlett's first NCAA Tournament appearance as a head coach.

• Seton Hill posted a record of 16-13 overall and 11-11 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, finishing tied for fifth in the West Division of the league standings.
• The Griffins finished the season in the quarterfinal round of the PSAC Men's Basketball Tournament, falling 84-69 to California (PA) in the opening round.
• SHU was tabbed sixth in the West Division of the PSAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• In 29 games last season the Griffins averaged 77.2 points, 36.3 rebounds, 14.1 assists, 9.1 steals, and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting the ball 46.4 percent from the field, 32.8 percent from 3-point range, and 68.3 percent from the free throw line.
• Last season Seton Hill ranked 18^th in all of NCAA Division II with 9.1 steals per game.
• The Griffins return three starters from a year ago with Drew Green and Jimmy Moon back as graduate students and Ryan Meis back for his senior season. Meis is the lone returner to average double figure points last season with 10.1 points while adding 2.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.0 steal per game. Green added 9.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.2 steals, while Moon notched 7.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game.
• Another key returner is Caleb Whitaker, who came off the bench in 27 games, averaging 6.5 points and 4.7 rebounds.
• Seton Hill welcomes six incoming freshmen to the team with Dimitrios Sklavenitis, Kedrick Curtis, Edir Ortiz, Camden Brewer, Carter Anderson, and Noah Wright.
• Ben Wilkins enters his second season as the head coach at Seton Hill with a career record of 16-13 during his time with the Griffins.

• West Liberty leads the all-time series 11-1.
• The teams last met in the opening weekend of the 2017-18 season as the Hilltoppers ran away with a 107-69 win in the ASRC on November 11, 2017.