West Liberty, W.Va. – The No. 6 West Liberty University men's basketball team will see a pair of 2023 NCAA Division II Tournament participants this weekend when they face (RV) Dominican University of New York and No. 20 Angelo State. The Hilltoppers open their stay at the Daytona Beach Shootout at 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon against the Chargers before facing their first ranked opponent of the season at 1 p.m. on Monday afternoon against the Rams.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: Daytona Beach, Fla. (Ocean Hill Center)
• Tip-Off: Sunday vs. Dominican at 1 p.m. / Monday vs. Angelo State at 1 p.m.
• Alumni Events: Fans attending the games in Florida are also welcome to attend Alumni and Friends events on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. A full schedule and details can be found at the attached link.
• Watch Party: Fans who are not making the trip to Florida are welcomed to attend a watch party at The Alpha Tavern in Wheeling for Sunday's game against Dominican at 1 p.m.

#6 WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters the Daytona Beach Shootout with a record of 8-1 (4-1 MEC) following a 91-89 win at home against West Virginia State on Saturday, December 17.
• The Hilltoppers lead NCAA Division II in assist/turnover ratio (2.07), assists per game (23.7), 3-point attempts per game (35.1), and turnover margin (+13.7). They also rank second in bench points per game (47.67) and turnovers forced per game (25.11), and rank third in scoring margin (+25.9), scoring offense (102.0), steals per game (14.7), and 3-pointers per game (12.3).
• Joining the Hilltoppers in the top-4 scoring offenses in DII are three teams with ties back to the hilltop and their unique style of play. Gannon (115.6 ppg) is led by Jordan Fee who played at WLU from 2010-12, Nova Southeastern (109.2 ppg) is led by former WLU head coach Jim Crutchfield who was on the sidelines from 2004-17, and Coker (99.4 ppg) who is led by Mike Lamberti who played for WLU from 2011-16 and was an assistant coach from 2018-23.
• Since 2010 the Black & Gold have posted the best overall winning percentage in NCAA basketball (415-51, .891) and have the best home winning percentage (225-10, .957).
• West Liberty fell to No. 6 in the NABC Division II Coaches Poll on Tuesday afternoon after suffering their first loss of the season the week prior at Charleston (92-83).
• Through nine games WLU is averaging 102.0 points, 37.4 rebounds, 23.7 assists, 14.7 steals, and 3.0 blocks per game, while shooting the ball 47.9 percent from the field, 35.1 percent from 3-point range, and 71.7 percent from the free throw line.
• A total of five players for the Hilltoppers are averaging double figures in scoring following the first nine games of the season, led by Christian Montague with 13.2 points and Zach Rasile with 11.9 points per game. John Korte adds 11.5 points per game while Dante Spadafora and Chaz Hinds each score 10.9 and 10.6 points per game respectively.
• Spadafora and Hinds have each knocked down a team-best 21 shots from beyond the arc as Spadafora is 21-of-43 (48.8%) while Hinds is 21-of-54 (38.9%). The duo is tied for fourth in the MEC with 2.33 3-pointers per game. Montague is also shooting at a 47.5 percent clip from deep, knocking down 19-of-40 shots from 3-point range this season.
• Spadafora's 3-pointer with 4:02 remaining in the first half against WVSU marked the 800^th consecutive game that WLU has made a shot from beyond the arc, a streak dating back to November 14, 1999.
• Alek West is averaging a team-high 4.7 rebounds per game this year while Ben Sarson and Finley Woodward add 4.4 and 4.1 rebounds per game.
• Montague ranks 26^th in DII dishing out 5.2 assists per game and is 27^th in the country with 47 total assists. West is second on the team with 3.3 assists per game.
• West's 5.00 assist/turnover ratio ranks second in DII as he has dished out 30 assists compared to only six turnovers. Montague also ranks 19^th nationally with a 3.13 assist/turnover ratio, totaling 47 assists compared to 15 turnovers.
• Defensively WLU is led by Spadafora who ranks third in DII with 29 steals and fifth nationally with 3.22 steals per game. Montague and West add 2.1 and 1.9 steals per game respectively.
• Ben Sarson has made it difficult for opponents to get their shot attempts off this season, tallying 1.3 blocks per game. He has had a block in seven of the nine games this season, including four games with two or more rejections.
• Ben Howlett is in his seventh season as the head coach at West Liberty with a career record of 169-26 (.867) with the Hilltoppers. He holds the best winning percentage of coaches with a minimum of five years of experience across all NCAA divisions.

(RV) DOMINICAN (N.Y.) STORYLINES

• Dominican (N.Y.) enters the Daytona Beach Shootout with a record of 7-1 (1-1 CACC) following a 79-77 loss on the road at Post on Saturday, December 2.
• The Chargers rank within the top-20 of NCAA Division II in eight statistical categories, ranking fourth in bench points per game (44.12) and turnovers forced per game (23.75), sixth in scoring offense (93.5) and turnover margin (+7.9), seventh in steals per game (11.9), eighth in assists per game (19.4), 11^th in scoring margin (+16.2), and 20^th in 3-pointers per game (10.5).
• Dominican continued to receive votes in the most recent NABC Division II Coaches Poll on Tuesday afternoon.
• In the first eight games of the season Dominican is averaging 93.5 points, 39.0 rebounds, 19.4 assists, 11.9 steals, and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting the ball 47.4 percent from the field, 39.6 percent from 3-point range, and 63.5 percent from the free throw line.
• Four Chargers average double figures scoring, led by Seth Sharif-Brown with 16.3 points per game. Javel Cherry, Joshua Serrano, and Joseph Merrill each add 14.0, 13.8, and 12.8 points per game respectively.
• Cherry ranks second in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference with 45.5 percent shooting from 3-point range, knocking down 20-of-44 shots from deep. He ranks fourth in the league with 2.50 3-pointers per game.
• Sharif-Brown also leads Dominican on the glass, grabbing a team-high 5.1 rebounds per game. He has posted five or more boards in four games this season, including a season-high of nine in a win over New Haven. Emmanuel Smith and Merrill add 4.6 and 4.0 rebounds per game respectively.
• Joshuel White and Merrill are the facilitators of the Charger offense, dishing out 3.1 and 3.0 assists per game. The duo has two games apiece with five or more assists during 2023-24.
• White and Merrill rank fourth and fifth in the CACC in assist/turnover ratio with averages of 1.92 and 1.85. White has notched 25 assists compared to 13 turnovers while Merrill has 24 assists compared to 13 turnovers.
• On the defensive side of the ball, Jaden Honis leads the team with 1.5 steals per game while Merrill, Serrano, and Smith each average 1.4 steals per game.
• Smith is the rim protector for the Chargers, posting the third most blocks per game in the conference with an average of 1.75. His 14 blocks this season is fifth in the CACC.
• Joseph Clinton is in his 32^nd season as the head coach at Dominican, posting a career record of 514-418 during his time with the Chargers.

SERIES HISTORY

• West Liberty leads the all-time series 2-0 against Dominican.
• The Hilltoppers defeated the Chargers 106-62 in the 1977-78 season and 78-66 in the 1991-92 season.

#20 ANGELO STATE STORYLINES

• Angelo State enters the Daytona Beach Shootout with a record of 8-1 (5-0 LSC) following a 74-65 win at home against UT Permian Basin on Tuesday, December 12.
• The Rams rank within the top-25 of NCAA Division II in three statistical categories, ranking fifth in field goal percentage defense (38.2%), 17^th in 3-point percentage defense (28.1%), and 23^rd in 3-point percentage (40.0%).
• Angelo State re-entered the NABC Division II Coaches Poll at No. 20 on Tuesday afternoon as they fell out of the rankings after opening the season No. 19 in the preseason poll.
• In the first nine games of the season ASU is averaging 78.4 points, 37.9 rebounds, 14.8 assists, 7.0 steals, and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting the ball 48.1 percent from the field, 40.0 percent from 3-point range, and 75.6 percent from the free throw line.
• Keyshawn Embery-Simpson leads a trio of players who average double figures in scoring for Angelo State with 17.7 points per game. He is joined by Kevon Godwin and Trey Farrer who average 16.9 and 11.8 points per game respectively.
• Embery-Simpson, who ranks second in the Lone Star Conference and 24^th in DII, averages 3.14 3-pointers per game for the Rams. He has knocked down 22-of-49 shots from beyond the arc for 44.9 percent. Godwin leads the team with 23 made shots from deep, connecting on 23-of-53 for 43.4 percent from 3-point range.
• Farrer leads ASU on the glass with 7.3 rebounds per game, securing a pair of ten rebound performances for double-doubles this season. DJ Freeman and DJ Basey also adds 5.5 and 5.2 rebounds respectively.
• Godwin and Willie Guy have been the facilitators of the Angelo State offense as they have dished out an average of 3.6 assists per game apiece. Guy has notched five or more assists in three games while Godwin has twice.
• Guy also leads the Rams on the defensive side of the ball as he has collected a team-high of 2.1 steals per game, ranking fourth in the conference. He secured a career-high five steals in the season opening win over No. 15 Fort Lewis.
• Farrer and Basey have been the rim protectors for the Angelo State defense, averaging 1.2 blocks per game apiece. Farrer has posted multiple blocks in five games this year while Basey has done so in three contests.
• Vinay Patel is in his second season as the head coach at Angelo State, posting a record of 34-8 during his time with the Rams. He has made previous stops at Northwestern Oklahoma State and Oklahoma City, collecting a career record of 159-106.

SERIES HISTORY

• Monday marks the first-ever meeting between West Liberty and Angelo State on the hardwood.