EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The No. 5-ranked West Liberty University men's basketball team returns to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight for the seventh time in the past 13 seasons this afternoon when the Atlantic Region champion Hilltoppers take on East Region champion New Haven in a 3:30 p.m. (EDT) quarterfinal at the Ford Center.
It's another matchup of contrasting styles for the surging Black and Gold, which rode a 16-game winning streak into this midwestern city. Coach Ben Howlett's Hilltoppers (31-3) are one of only two NCAA D2 teams averaging over 100 points a game this season while the Chargers (23-10) rank among the Top 10 nationally in scoring defense (61.8 ppg.) and field goal percentage defense (39.0).
"New Haven runs a lot of different stuff from what we're used to seeing in our league," Howlett said. "They have an excellent two-guard offense that might remind our West Virginia fans of some of the things John Beilein did when he was at WVU but defense is where they make their money.
"They have really strong, experienced guards and an athletic 7-foot guy in the middle who rebounds and blocks shots. They're extremely well-coached. They mix it up defensively between man and zone. It's a lot to prepare for but we have to be ready for whatever they throw at us tomorrow if we're still going to be here on Thursday."
Majur Majak could be a "major" problem for WLU. Now in his second season with the Chargers, the 7-1 transfer from NCAA Division I St. Peter's (N.J.) ranks No. 2 nationally with 101 blocked shots and leads the nation with 390 rebounds.
Seven inches taller than WLU's tallest starter, 6-6 sophomore Ben Sarson, Majak was the Northeast-10 Defensive Player of the Year this season but can't be ignored on the offensive end of the floor. He averages just 7.0 ppg. but shoots better than 63 percent (94-149) from the field and connects at a 78 percent clip (39-50) from the charity stripe. Majur even went 2-for-2 from the 3-point arc in a season-high 14-point night against Franklin Pierce (N.H.).
New Haven head coach Ted Hotaling uses four seniors and a junior in an iron-man starting lineup. Guards Quashawn Lane (6-2) and Ty Perry (6-3) each average better than 15 points a night while combining for 74 3-point field goals. Davontrey Thomas, a 6-5 junior forward, averages 12.8 ppg. and leads the team with 85 bonus bombs. Kendall McMillan, a 6-1 senior guard, replaced veteran Victor Olawoye (9.3 ppg.) in the lineup after Olawoye went down with a season-ending injury during the NE-10 Tournament final.
The Hilltoppers start five double-figure scorers, led by 6-5 junior All-American Bryce Butler. Well over 1,800 points for his career, Butler is averaging 22.6 points and 7.7 rebounds a game – both team-highs. Veteran guards Malik McKinney (6-3), Christian Montague (6-1) and Steve Cannady (6-1) are all 1,000-point scorers with well over 100 collegiate games on their resume. Sarson, the "baby" of the group who averages 10.8 ppg. and 4.3 rpg., will be playing in his 77th game this afternoon.
Don't overlook the contributions of the West Liberty bench. The Hilltoppers' "second wave" – a 5-man group that enters the game just two or three minutes after tipoff – has impacted numerous games this season. Freshman point guard Dante Spadafora (2.5 ppg.), 6-4 junior guard Alek West (6.5 ppg.), 6-8 junior post Chaz Hinds (6.0 ppg.), 6-7 freshman wing Fin Woodward (3.5 ppg.) and 6-1 sophomore guard Zach Rasile (9.2 ppg.) will look to speed up the game with their energy and aggressiveness.
Both teams are coming off impressive runs through their respective regional tournaments.
The Chargers were only the No. 4 seed in the East Region tournament but hammered No. 5 seed Pace, 83-57, in the quarterfinals before rolling past Caldwell, 77-56, in the semifinals. New Haven jumped out to a 19-4 lead midway through the first half of the regional final against No. 25 Bentley and coasted to its first regional title with a 69-60 win.
Dating back to the start of postseason play at the MEC Tournament, West Liberty has reeled off six straight double-digit wins by an average margin of nearly 22 points a game. The Hilltoppers opened Atlantic Region play with a 112-88 blowout of Pitt-Johnstown and followed that up with an 86-72 victory against No. 16 Mercyhurst. The Black and Gold capped its regional run with a 70-53 throttling of No. 3-ranked Indiana (Pa.) on the Crimson Hawks' home floor to punch their ticket to Evansville.
"A lot of our guys were here two years ago when we didn't play very well against an outstanding Northwest Missouri State team and lost in the quarterfinals," Howlett said. "That left a pretty sour taste in our mouths. We're not just happy to be here; we came here to stay here."
The West Liberty-New Haven winner advances to Thursday afternoon's semifinal round against the winner of today's first quarterfinal between No. 3 seed Black Hills State, S.D. (28-5) and No. 6 seed Minnesota-Duluth (26-9). The evening quarterfinals find top-seeded Nova Southeastern, Fla. (33-0) taking on No. 8 seed Missouri-St. Louis (24-10) at 7 p.m. (EDT) before No. 4 seed CSU-San Bernardino (30-3) and No. 5 seed Lincoln Memorial, Tenn. (30-4) wrap things up with a 9:30 p.m. (EDT) tipoff.
