West Liberty, W.Va. – First place in the Mountain East Conference standings is on the line on Wednesday night as the No. 2 West Liberty University men's basketball team travels to the state capital to face Charleston. The Hilltoppers and Golden Eagles look to keep their conference records perfect as they tip-off at 7:30 p.m. in the Wehrle Innovation Center.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: Charleston, W.Va. (Wehrle Innovation Center)
• Tip-Off: 7:30 P.M.

#2 WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Wednesday's game with a record of 7-0 (3-0 MEC) following a 91-85 win on the road at Davis & Elkins on Saturday afternoon.
• The Hilltoppers lead NCAA Division II in assists per game (25.3), bench points per game (51.00), scoring margin (+34.3), 3-point attempts per game (36.0), turnover margin (+15.3), and turnovers forced per game (26.57). They also rank second nationally in steals per game (15.9), and third nationally in assist/turnover ratio (2.24), scoring offense (106.3), 3-point percentage defense (23.6%), and 3-pointers per game (12.4).
• Joining the Hilltoppers in the top-4 scoring offenses in DII and all averaging more than 100 points per game, are three teams with ties back to the hilltop and their unique style of play. Gannon (117.3 ppg) is led by Jordan Fee who played at WLU from 2010-12, Nova Southeastern (109.8 ppg) is led by former WLU head coach Jim Crutchfield who was on the sidelines from 2004-17, and Coker (103.0 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 (414-50, .892) and have the best home winning percentage (224-10, .957).
• West Liberty is currently ranked No. 2 in the NABC Division II Coaches Poll for the third consecutive week.
• Through seven games WLU is averaging 106.3 points, 40.0 rebounds, 25.3 assists, 15.9 steals, and 3.6 blocks per game, while shooting the ball 48.6 percent from the field, 34.5 percent from 3-point range, and 73.6 percent from the free throw line.
• A total of five players for the Hilltoppers are averaging double figures in scoring following the first seven games of the season, led by John Korte with 13.0 points and John Zach Rasile with 12.9 points per game. Christian Montague adds 11.9 points per game while Finley Woodward and Dante Spadafora each score 10.9 and 10.6 points per game respectively.
• Montague and Spadafora are each shooting at a 50.0 percent clip from beyond the arc as Montague has connected on 15-of-30 shots while Spadafora has hit 16-of-32 shots.
• Alek West is averaging a team-high 4.9 rebounds per game this year after collecting seven boards in back-to-back games against WVWC and D&E, his most during his time on the hilltop. Woodward and Ben Sarson add 4.7 and 4.6 rebounds per game.
• Montague ranks 16^th in DII having dished out 5.7 assists per game and is 22^nd in the country with 40 total assists. West is second on the team with 3.7 assists per game.
• West's 5.20 assist/turnover ratio ranks fifth in DII as he has passed out 26 assists compared to only five turnovers. Montague also ranks 24^th nationally with a 3.33 assist/turnover ratio, totaling 40 assists compared to 12 turnovers.
• Defensively WLU is led by Spadafora who ranks fourth in DII with 3.43 steals per game and 24 total steals. 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 1.6 blocks per game. He has had a block in six of the seven games this season, including two or more in each of the last four outings. He tied a career-high of three blocks in the most recent game against Davis & Elkins.
• Ben Howlett is in his seventh season as the head coach at West Liberty with a career record of 168-25 (.870) with the Hilltoppers. He holds the best winning percentage of coaches with a minimum of five years of experience across all NCAA divisions.

(RV) CHARLESTON STORYLINES

• Charleston enters Wednesday's game with a record of 5-1 (4-0 MEC) following a 77-72 win at home against No. 19 Fairmont State on Saturday afternoon.
• UC is one of two teams receiving votes in this week's NABC Division II Coaches' Poll, being joined by Concord.
• The Golden Eagles rank within the top-30 of NCAA Division II in four statistical categories, ranking seventh in 3-point attempts per game (29.5), 12^th in 3-pointers per game (11.0), 15^th in effective field goal percentage (58.2%), and 26^th in fewest fouls per game (14.2),
• In the first six games of the season UC is averaging 81.8 points, 34.0 rebounds, 15.2 assists, 5.2 steals, and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting the ball 49.0 percent from the field, 37.3 percent from 3-point range, and 75.3 percent from the free throw line.
• Eddie Colbert III leads a group of four players who average double figures in scoring for Charleston with 16.8 points per game. He is joined by DeAirius Barker, Tyler Eberhart, and CJ Meredith who average 12.2, 12.0, and 11.3 points per game respectively.
• Meredith and Keaton Turner are the top 3-point shooters on the team as they both are shooting 11-of-24 for 45.8 percent on the season.
• Barker and Colbert III are among the top players from the charity stripe this season. Barker ranks fifth in DII with a free throw percentage of 95.5 percent (21-of-22) and Colbert III ranks 16^th nationally with a free throw percentage of 93.3 percent (14-of-15).
• Colbert III also leads the Golden Eagles on the glass, grabbing a team-high 5.6 rebounds per game and has secured six rebounds in four of five games he has played in this year.
• Dwaine Jones has been Charleston's floor general, dishing out 5.5 assists per game which ranks 20^th in DII this season. He has passed out a total of 33 assists compared to 12 turnovers for a 2.75 assist/turnover ratio.
• Barker and Obinna Ugwuakazi lead the defense with 1.2 and 1.0 steals per game respectively. Ugwuakazi has also posted 0.7 blocks per game this year.
• Dwaine Osborne is in his 11^th season as the head coach at Charleston, posting a record of 196-98 during his time with the Golden Eagles. Now in his 18^th season overall as a collegiate head coach, making prior stops at Glenville State and Texas Permian Basin, he holds a career record of 285-205.

SERIES HISTORY

• Charleston holds a 60-53 advantage in the all-time series; however, West Liberty has won eight of the last nine meetings between the teams.
• In the last match-up, the Hilltoppers defeated the Golden Eagles 94-77 in the ASRC on February 4, 2023.
• Christian Montague scored 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field while grabbing three rebounds and three steals in the win. Ben Sarson also contributed 11 points with a pair of 3-pointers, grabbing six rebounds and adding three assists, one block, and one steal in the game.