West Liberty, W.Va. – The No. 3 West Liberty University men's basketball team will welcome Notre Dame into the ASRC for the final contest before the Thanksgiving break on Tuesday night. The Hilltoppers and Falcons tip-off the MEC slate at 7:30 p.m. on the hilltop.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: West Liberty, W.Va. (Academic Sports & Recreation Complex "ASRC")
• Tip-Off: 7:30 P.M.

#3 WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Tuesday's game with a record of 4-0 following a 111-82 road win over Salem on Saturday evening.
• The Hilltoppers lead NCAA Division II in turnover margin (+15.8) and rank second in assists per game (25.0), bench points per game (52.75), and turnovers forced per game (26.25).
• Since 2010 the Black & Gold have posted the best overall winning percentage in NCAA basketball (411-50, .892) and have the best home winning percentage 222-10 (.957).
• West Liberty enters the week ranked at No. 3 in the NABC Division II Coaches Poll and is No. 1 in the D2CSC Media Poll, voted on by DII Sports Information Directors.
• Through four games WLU is averaging 104.8 points, 40.5 rebounds, 25.0 assists, 15.8 steals, and 3.3 blocks per game, while shooting the ball 48.9 percent from the field, 33.6 percent from 3-point range, and 74.0 percent from the free throw line.
• A total of five players for the Hilltoppers are averaging double figures in scoring following the first four games of the season, led by John Korte with 14.3 points and Chaz Hinds with 12.0 points per game. Dante Spadafora adds 11.8 points, Christian Montague averages 11.3 points, and Zach Rasile is scoring 10.3 points per game.
• Spadafora and Montague are both shooting the ball 50 percent or better from beyond the arc. Spadafora is 36^th in NCAA Division II with a 3-point shooting percentage of 55.0, while knocking down 11 shots, and Montague has connected on 50.0 percent of his shots while making nine 3-pointers.
• Korte and Alek West have each grabbed a team-high of 4.5 rebounds per game this season.
• Montague is 20^th in the country with 23 assists this season and is 25^th with an average of 5.8 assists per game. West is second on the team with 4.3 assists per game, and he also ranks sixth in DII with an 8.50 assist/turnover ratio as he has dished out 17 assists while turning the ball over only twice in 2023.
• Defensively WLU is led by Spadafora who ranks tenth in DII with 3.0 steals per game and is 11^th in the country with 12 total steals. Montague and West add 2.5 and 2.0 steals per game respectively.
• The duo of West and Ben Sarson have made it difficult for opponents to get shot attempts off, averaging 1.0 block per game through the first four games of the year.
• Ben Howlett enters his seventh season as the head coach at West Liberty with a career record of 165-25 (.868) with the Hilltoppers. He holds the best winning percentage of coaches with a minimum of five years of experience across all NCAA divisions.

NOTRE DAME STORYLINES

• Notre Dame enters Tuesday's game with a record of 2-1 following a 79-66 home win over Wheeling on Saturday afternoon.
• The Falcons rank within the top-20 of four statistical categories in NCAA Division II, ranking fifth in blocks per game (5.7), 11^th in field goal percentage defense (36.9%), 13^th in offensive rebounds per game (15.33), and 16^th in rebounds per game (44.00).
• In the first three games of the season NDC is averaging 78.3 points, 44.0 rebounds, 14.0 assists, 6.7 steals, and 5.7 blocks per game while shooting the ball 41.0 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from 3-point range, and 78.6 percent from the free throw line.
• The Falcons are led by four players scoring in double figures, as Devin Haid and RJ Ogom with 16.3 points, Gbolahan Adio is averaging 15.3 points, and Andre Harris adds 11.7 points per game.
• Harris ranks 15^th in DII with 11.0 rebounds per game and is 12^th in the country with 4.33 offensive rebounds per game. RJ Ogom is second on the team with 7.0 rebounds per game and is 17^th nationally with 4.00 offensive rebounds per game.
• Adio, Robbie Cass, Kaleb Torrence, and Joshua Dames each average a team-high 2.0 assists per game.
• Ogom has collected seven total blocks this season and ranks 22^nd in DII with 2.33 blocks per game.
• Mark Richmond is in his fifth season as the head coach at Notre Dame, posting a career record of 51-57 during his time with the Falcons.

SERIES HISTORY

• West Liberty leads the all-time series 20-3.
• The Hilltoppers won their fourth straight in the series with a 96-75 victory in the MEC Tournament on March, 4, 2023, in Wheeling.