WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The second-seeded West Liberty University men's basketball team will take on the No. 3 seed Mercyhurst in the NCAA Atlantic Region semifinals Sunday evening at 5 pm after cruising past No. 7 seed Pitt-Johnstown in Saturday's regional opener.

THE BASICS
NCAA Atlantic Region Tournament | Kovalchick Complex (Indiana, Pa)
Semifinals | March 12, 2023 | 5:00 pm
(3) Mercyhurst (25-5, 18-4 PSAC) vs. (2) #5 West Liberty (29-3, 20-2 MEC)
Live stats and video links will be available here.
 
FAN INFORMATION
For more information on the host site, tickets, schedules, and more click here. The semifinal winners move on to the regional final, which will be Tuesday (March 14) at 7 pm. No.1 seed Indiana (Pa) battles No. 4 Virginia Union in the other semifinal on Sunday at 7:30 pm.

THE HILLTOPPERS
West Liberty ended the regular season on a 10-game winning streak and has extended it to 14 after a dominating run through the MEC Tournament and a regional-opening win yesterday, their longest streak of the season. WLU started the season 9-0, then after a hiccup in the first game in Las Vegas against Lubbock Christian, the Black and Gold rattled off five wins in a row. A convincing loss at Fairmont State (101-76) started a rough one-week span, which added a road loss to crosstown rival Wheeling (114-107). The Hilltoppers regrouped with a dominating 104-69 win over D&E the next Wednesday at home and took the momentum into the postseason not losing since.
 
REGIONAL-OPENING ROUT
The Hilltoppers cruised past Pitt-Johnstown on Saturday afternoon, 112-88. West Liberty netted 11 of the first 13 points and never looked back. The Mountain Cats closed the gap to 13-7 but  Malik McKinney answered with a driving layup and the Hilltopper pressure clamped down hard. The Black and Gold reeled off 10 unanswered points over the next 90 seconds to push the count to 23-7 with 12:42 still to play in the first half. The lead never dropped below double-figures the rest of the way. The margin hit 20 points for the first time, 37-17, on a Steve Cannady free throw at 7:40 of the first half. West Liberty carried a 58-42 advantage into the halftime locker room and led by as many as 24 points down the stretch.
 
The Hilltoppers hit 54 percent (43-of-79) of their shots from the floor, including 8-of-20 (40 percent) from behind the 3-point arc. Howlett's up-tempo crew came up with 14 steals, forced 20 turnovers and held a whopping 31-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
 
Two-time Atlantic Region Player of the Year Bryce Butler led the way with 27 points and 8 rebounds while McKinney added 22 points to pace seven WLU players in double-figures. Ben Sarson and Zach Rasile finished with 13 and 12 points, respectively, Christian Montague added 11 and the Black and Gold got 10 each from Cannady and Fin Woodward.
 
DOMINATING MEC TOURNAMENT
The Hilltoppers earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament out of the Mountain East Conference with a dominating three days last weekend at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling. West Liberty rolled to victories of 24, 21, and 30 for the largest overall scoring margin in tournament history (+75) defeating (8) Concord, (5) Notre Dame, and (2) Fairmont State.
 
In the championship victory over Fairmont State, WLU set seven tournament championship game records, including most points (112), largest halftime lead (+20), largest final margin (+30), most field goals made (42), most three pointers made (18), most rebounds (48), and most assists (29).
 
Bryce Butler was named Tournament MVP after posting a double-double in all three games and finished the tournament averaging 22.6 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 4.2 assists. Steve Cannady drained a game-high five three pointers and ended with 19 points in the championship to earn a spot on all-tournament team.
 
LONGEST ACTIVE NCAA TOURNAMENT STREAK
This is West Liberty's 14th consecutive NCAA Division II Tournament trip and 15th overall. The Black and Gold are 29-13 in NCAA tournament play. The Hilltoppers have advanced to 9 of the last 12 Sweet 16s, made 6 Elite Eight trips and played in 3 Final Fours. The 14 consecutive tournament appearances is the longest active streak in D2 and one shy of the record 15 straight set by Assumption (Mass.) from 1963-77
 
REGULAR SEASON CHAMPS AGAIN
West Liberty won its sixth straight MEC regular season title this season. The Hilltoppers have won nine regular season titles in the 10-year history of the conference. WLU was the sole regular season champion in 2014, 15, 18, 19, 20, and 22, then won the North Division in 2021 (the lone year with divisions) and shared the title with Wheeling Jesuit in 2016. Fairmont State was the only other sole champion in 2017. The Hilltoppers dynasty dates to 2010, when they were members of the WVIAC winning the league in 2010, 11, 12, 13, and 14 before the creation of the MEC making it 13 of the last 14 years that West Liberty has been regular season conference champions.
 
WINNINGEST ACTIVE COACH IN THE NCAA
The win at Frostburg State on February 15 was Head Coach Ben Howlett's 150th career win at the helm of the Hilltoppers. His career record sits at 157-24 all-time. Howlett is the winningest active head men's basketball coach across all NCAA divisions (minimum five seasons) with an .867 winning percentage.
 
BUTLER REPEATS AS POY; MCKINNEY AND MONTAGUE EARN SECOND TEAM
West Liberty's Bryce Butler, a 6'5" guard from Latrobe, Pa, made it back-to-back Atlantic Region and MEC Player of the Year honors with another impressive season. He is just the third back-to-back MEC Player of the Year in conference history alongside WLU's Dalton Bolon in 2019-20 and 2020-21 and Seger Bonifant in 2014-15 and 2015-16. The Hilltoppers have now had the last four MEC Player of the Year honorees and seven in the 10 year history of the league. Christian Montague was named second team for the first time in his career after earning All-GMAC honors while at Walsh earlier in his career, then Malik McKinney earned his first all-conference honor also on second team.
 
STAT CHECK
The Hilltoppers are in the top three in Division II in nine statistical categories and lead the country in four. They are No. 1 in the country in three pointers per game (12.8), three-point attempts per game (33.6), assists per game (22.7), and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.92). WLU ranks second in scoring offense (101.2 points per game), scoring margin (+19.7), turnovers forced per game (19.58), and steals per game (11.0). Then, ranks third in turnover margin (+7.7).
 
West Liberty hit the century mark in five straight games to end the regular season and did so for the 18^th time in the regional opener. The Hilltoppers have recorded 24 of their 29 wins by double digits, including each of their last five. WLU is shooting 49.5% from the field (19^th in DII) and 38.3% from beyond the arc, meanwhile opponents are netting 81.7 points per game by converting at a 47.8% rate from the field and 33.9% clip from deep. WLU hoisted double-digit more shot attempts than opponents in 17 of the 32 games, including a 79-61 advantage in field goal attempts versus UPJ on Saturday. The Black and Gold has dished out 20-plus assists in 23 of their 31 games this season and 30-plus in four outings.
 
The Hilltoppers have forced 20 or more turnovers 16 times this season and four of the last six games.
 
WLU has drained double-digit threes in 25 outings and hit 20 or more four times, most recently draining 20 versus Concord, in which they set an NCAA DII single-game record having 12 different players record a made three pointer, on February 11. WLU has made double-digit threes in 14 of the last 16 games. They have held opponents to single digit three pointers in 27 of the 32 games, including seven straight and 14 of the last 16.
 
BUTLER LEADS THE WAY
Butler leads the MEC in scoring and is top-15 in DII at 22.5 points per game, while making the most field goals of any DII player (291). He is shooting 59.3% from the floor, the third-best mark in the conference. Butler also leads the team in rebounding, at 7.8 boards per game, the fourth-most in the MEC, ranks top-five in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.92), and averages 3.7 assists per game (2^nd on the team and 7^th in MEC). He posted a double-double in four straight games including a career-high 16 rebounds in the MEC semifinal and a 22-point, 12-rebound championship performance leading into the regionals. He has 10 double-doubles on the season. Butler has netted double-digits in all 32 games, he scored 20-plus 24 times, including three straight and seven of the last ten, he also has three 30-point outings. The MEC and Atlantic Region Player of the Year for the second straight season has been West Liberty's leading scorer in 24 of the 32 games and five in a row. Butler has had six assists four different times this year, including in the home regular season win over Fairmont State, which he also scored 27 points, and dished out a season-high seven in the home win over Notre Dame. Butler is a five-time MEC Player of the Week and was named the D2CIDA National Player of the Week on December 13 after his game-winning shot over WVSU at home.
 
TOTAL TEAM EFFORT
Five Hilltoppers average double-digit points per game. Malik McKinney (12.5), Christian Montague (12.0), Steve Cannady (11.2), and Ben Sarson (11.2) all join Butler (22.5). McKinney (56.2%) and Butler (59.3%) are making over half their shot attempts.
 
Four Hilltoppers shoot 40% or better from beyond the arc, Rasile leads at 45.1%, then Montague hits at a 44.0% rate, Butler drains 42.7% of his long balls, and Cannady is at 40.9% from deep.
 
Four 'Toppers are in the top-five in the MEC in assist-to-turnover ratio, Cannady (1^st – 3.00), Montague (2^nd – 2.93), Alek West (3^rd – 2.61), and Butler (5^th – 1.92).
 
10 Hilltoppers average over 10 minutes per game with Butler leading all players, at 28.2 minutes on the court.
 
INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS
Christian Montague scored a career-high 30 points in the win over Fairmont State and pulled in a team-high eight rebounds, the only player other than Bryce Butler to lead the team in points and rebounds in a game this season. Montague is second on the team, averaging 2.1 triples per game, while shooting 44% from three. He leads the team averaging 3.8 assists per game and has had seven twice this season. Montague also ranks seventh in the MEC with 47 steals (2^nd on the team). He has scored double-digits 20 times with two above 20 points (26 & 30) and posted 19 with a tie of his season-high five three pointers (for the third time) in the regular season finale versus Wheeling. Montague went over 1,000 career points between Walsh and West Liberty with a previous career-high of 26 points in the home matchup against Frostburg State on January 11.
 
Steve Cannady, a graduate transfer from Mercyhurst where he eclipsed 1,000 career points, will be battling his former squad in the regional semifinal. Cannady has posted 10-plus 19 times in his first season dawning the Black and Gold including three straight, which features a 19-point outing with a tie of his season-high five three pointers in the MEC championship game. He dished out six assists for the sixth time in the conference championship game as well and averages 3.0 assists per game. Cannady also ranks sixth in the MEC in steals with a team-high 51 on the season averaging 1.6 per game.
 
Rasile is top-five in the MEC averaging 2.28 three pointers per game and is shooting a team-best 45.1% from deep. The sophomore guard tied his career-high with five triples for the fourth time in the recent home win over Concord and hit eight over three games in the conference tournament last weekend. Rasile has scored double digits 15 times this season and has eclipsed 10 points in three of the four postseason games. He tied his career-high for the second time this season with three steals in the regular season finale versus Wheeling.
 
Ben Sarson, a 6'6" sophomore forward, has netted double figures 19 times this season including six straight outings. Sarson scored a team-leading 20 points at Notre Dame in the last week of the regular season, his second game hitting 20-plus. He is shooting a team-best 83.0% from the line. Sarson has made a three in each of the last 15 games, including a career-high five at Notre Dame and multiple triples in five of the last six games. He averages 1.97 three pointers per game, which is top-10 in the MEC. Sarson had a team-high in rebounds in four straight games, from Feb. 8-18, including a career-high (11) at Glenville State on February 8.
 
Malik McKinney, a senior guard from Bowie, Md., eclipsed 1,000 career points in the Hilltopper uniform this season becoming the 55^th player in West Liberty history to join the club. He has scored double digits 19 times this season, including 12 of the last 14 games, and hit the 20 mark three times with a pair of 24-point outings. He posted 24 points in 23 minutes in the regional-opening rout of Pitt-Johnstown, in which he shot 7-for-9 with one three pointer and made 11 free throws. McKinney has attempted 122 free throws this season (second on the team behind Butler's 139) and is shooting 79.5%.
 
Alek West, a junior guard in his first season on the hilltop after transferring from Ohio Dominican, scored a season-best 17 points with two threes and a 9-for-9 effort at the free throw line in the overtime win over Fairmont State at home on February 18. He added a second straight double-digit scoring effort at Notre Dame with 10 and then posted 11 in the MEC Tournament quarterfinals versus Concord. West averages 6.6 points per game and has hit double-digits seven times. He has had multiple assists in 15 of the last 18 games and averages 2.9 per game with a stretch of three in each of the last three outings. West also is seventh in the MEC with 46 steals this season.
 
Chaz Hinds netted his seventh double-digit game in the MEC championship game providing 15 points, 12 of which in the first half. He has one double-double (15 pts – 11 reb at AB in the conference opener) in his first season on the hilltop, as a junior college transfer, and is averaging 6.3 points per game.
 
Michael Sampson also recorded one double-double in his first season in the Black and Gold, after transferring from Notre Dame College, with a 13-point, 11-rebound outing in the win at home against Frostburg State. He averages 4.0 points per game and the double-double was his lone game in double digits.
 
Finley Woodward has scored 18 points over the last two games, 10 of which in the regional opener against UPJ. He has had double-digits in three outings, seeing time as a true freshman on the hilltop. The England native averages 3.5 points per game and is converting his shots at a 52.7% rate, he has made nine of his 14 shots over the past two games.
 
Dante Spadafora, a redshirt freshman, is a spark plug off the bench for the Hilltoppers both offensively and defensively. The sharpshooter drained a season-high four threes in five attempts in the home win over Davis & Elkins on January 12.
 
STARS ON THE COURT AND IN THE CLASSROOM
Bryce Butler, Steve Cannady, Zach Rasile, and Ben Sarson were all named Academic All-District in February. It is the second straight season Butler earned the honor and first for Cannady, Rasile, and Sarson.
 
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
West Liberty finished the season with a perfect 14-0 home record, the first undefeated home season since 2016-17, when WLU went 16-0. The Hilltoppers went 10-2 on the road and 1-1 in neutral site contests, both played in Las Vegas in late December.
 
WLU owns a 298-39 (.884) all-time and 204-30 (.872) conference record inside the ASRC since it opened in 2000. The Hilltoppers have won 112 of their last 118 games at home.
 
RECORD SUPERLATIVES
WLU is 24-0 when shooting over 46% from the field and has shot over 50% in each of the four postseason contests this season, hitting at a 54.4% rate yesterday. The Hilltoppers have made over half their shots 17 times and had a season-best 60% shooting in the home win over Concord on Feb. 11.
 
WLU is 20-0 when shooting 34% or better from three. The Hilltoppers have shot 40% or better 13 times, including an even 40% on Saturday versus UPJ, and went over 50% from beyond the arc in three outings, featuring a season-best 57.1% mark in the home win over Concord on Feb. 11.
 
WLU is 20-0 when recording double-digit steals, and has done so in seven of the last nine games, and is 23-0 when forcing 17 or more turnovers.

THE LAKERS
Mercyhurst downed the No. 6 seed East Stroudsburg 72-66, to advance into the regional semifinals for the fourth straight season. The Lakers trailed by three at the half yesterday, but bounced back with a 40-31 second half behind 56.5% shooting to claim the tournament victory. Mercyhurst has won six of its last seven games and is the only team to defeat IUP this season, a 62-49 win at home in early February.
 
The Lakers entered the postseason ranking fifth in DII in scoring margin (+15.5) and ninth in scoring defense (61.6 points allowed per game), while netting 77.1 points per game on 46.1% shooting and a PSAC-leading 9.3 three pointers per game. They also owned a +5.7-turnover margin (5^th in DII), a 1.62 assist-to-turnover ratio (6^th in DII), and averaged just 9.9 turnovers per game (ninth in DII) in the regular season.
 
Four Lakers were named all-conference this season. Michael Bradley and Jeff Planutis both made first team All-PSAC, while MiyKah McIntosh and Nicholas Lang are named to the second team. Planutis leads the team averaging 14.8 points per game, Bradley is right behind at 14.7 and Lang rounds out three Lakers in double-digits at 12.5 ppg. Ajayi Pipeloluwa (6.8 rebounds per game) and Lang (6.0 rebounds per game) pace the glass attack for Mercyhurst, as the Lakers average a +2.3-rebounding margin.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Hilltoppers are 1-3 in four all-time meetings against the Lakers. The last matchup came in the 2019 Atlantic Region finals, also at IUP, which Mercyhurst won 82-70. The other two WLU losses came by one possession in the early parts of the 1972-73 and 1995-96 seasons. West Liberty's lone win versus Mercyhurst in the short history of the matchup was 95-78 in 1988-89.

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
West Liberty is in the NCAA Division II Tournament for the 14^th consecutive season and 15^th time in program history. WLU is 30-13 all-time in tournament history, while posting a 6-5 record under Coach Howlett's direction the past six seasons (2021 tournament was canceled due to COVID).
 
The Hilltoppers have made the NCAA Division II Elite Eight six times in program history, once under Coach Howlett in 2021 after going 3-0 as the hosts of the Atlantic Regional. West Liberty has been in the regional final (Sweet 16) in nine of the last 12 tournaments and have made two appearances under Coach Howlett (lost in 2019 and won in 2021).
 
WLU has made four Final Four appearances and competed in the national championship game once in 2014 falling to Central Missouri (84-77).
 
2007
NCAA Division II East Region
            California (Pa.) 82, West Liberty 79, OT
2010
NCAA Division II Atlantic Region
            West Liberty 79, Alderson-Broaddus 66
            West Liberty 90, St. Augustine's (N.C.) 83
            Indiana (Pa.) 84, West Liberty 72
2011
NCAA Division II Atlantic Region
            West Liberty 117, Slippery Rock (Pa.) 73
West Liberty 98, Shaw (N.C.) 93
            West Liberty 89, Indiana (Pa.) 86
NCAA Division II Elite Eight
            West Liberty 113, Anderson (S.C.) 95
            BYU-Hawaii 110, West Liberty 101
2012
NCAA Division II Atlantic Region
            West Liberty 119, East Stroudsburg (Pa.) 82
            West Liberty 99, W.Va. Wesleyan 69
            West Liberty 89, Shaw (N.C.) 78
NCAA Division II Elite Eight
            Stonehill (Mass.) 91, West Liberty 90
2013
NCAA Division II Atlantic Region
            West Liberty 114, Bowie State (Md.) 82
            West Liberty 100, Fairmont State 77
            West Liberty 86, Indiana (Pa.) 63
NCAA Division II Elite Eight
            West Liberty 110, Winona State (Minn.) 84
            Metro State (Colo.) 83, West Liberty 76
2014
NCAA Division II Atlantic Region
            West Liberty 88, Glenville State 72
            West Liberty 86, Indiana (Pa.) 85, 3OT
            West Liberty 89, East Stroudsburg 82
NCAA Division II Elite Eight
            West Liberty 85, Drury (Mo.) 75
            West Liberty 86, South Carolina-Aiken 83
            Central Missouri 84, West Liberty 77
2015
NCAA Division II Atlantic Region
            West Liberty 127, Livingstone (N.C.) 89
            West Liberty 89, Fairmont State 59
            Indiana (Pa.) 77, West Liberty 74
2016
NCAA Division II Atlantic Region
            West Liberty 90, Concord 69
            West Liberty 84, Virginia State 74
            West Liberty 84, Kutztown (Pa.) 63
NCAA Division II Elite Eight
            West Liberty 75, Stonehill (Mass.) 74
            Lincoln Memorial 103, West Liberty 102
2017
NCAA Division II Atlantic Region
            Wheeling Jesuit 96, West Liberty 95, OT
2018
NCAA Division II Atlantic Region
            Shippensburg (Pa.) 98, West Liberty 66
2019
NCAA Division II Atlantic Region
            West Liberty 106, East Stroudsburg 99, OT
            West Liberty 82, Virginia State 80
            Mercyhurst 82, West Liberty 70
2020
NCAA Division II Atlantic Region
            CANCELED (COVID-19 Pandemic)
2021
NCAA Division II Atlantic Region
            West Liberty 94, Malone 89
            West Liberty 82, Charleston 63
            West Liberty 78, Hillsdale 61
NCAA Division II Elite Eight
            NW Missouri State 98, West Liberty 77
2022
NCAA Division II Atlantic Region
            W.Va. State 103, West Liberty 94, OT
2023
NCAA Division II Atlantic Region
            Pitt-Johnstown 88, West Liberty 112
 
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
Follow all the action for every game by visiting the Tournament Central page here.

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