West Liberty, W.Va. – The No. 25 West Liberty University men's basketball team will look to continue the momentum built in this week's mid-week contest and take it with them on the road at Fairmont State on Saturday afternoon. The Hilltoppers will face a Falcon team that has momentum of their own with six consecutive wins and will take the court at 4 p.m. inside Joe Retton Arena.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: Fairmont, W.Va. (Joe Retton Arena)
• Tip-Off: 4 P.M.

#25 WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Saturday's game with a record of 10-3 (5-1 MEC) following a 126-79 win at home over Frostburg State on Wednesday evening. In the win the Hilltoppers set season-high marks for field goals made (49), 3-pointers made (18), assists (35), first half points (72), and total points (126).
• The Hilltoppers are currently tied for first place in the league standings with Charleston and Davis & Elkins.
• Through 13 games WLU is averaging 102.5 points, 39.2 rebounds, 25.0 assists, 13.0 steals, and 3.0 blocks per game, while shooting the ball 48.2 percent from the field, 36.1 percent from 3-point range, and 72.3 percent from the free throw line.
• The Hilltoppers lead NCAA Division II in assists per game (25.0), bench points per game (47.69), and 3-point attempts per game (35.2). They also rank second in assist/turnover ratio (1.98) and 3-pointers per game (12.7), and rank third in scoring offense (102.5), turnover margin (+9.9), and turnovers forced per game (22.54).
• 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 (111.1 ppg) is led by Jordan Fee who played at WLU from 2010-12, Nova Southeastern (105.2 ppg) is led by former WLU head coach Jim Crutchfield who was on the sidelines from 2004-17, and Coker (98.6 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 (417-53, .887) and have the best home winning percentage (228-10, .958). The Hilltoppers have won 28 consecutive games inside the ASRC dating back to January 22, 2022.
• West Liberty fell to No. 25 in the NABC Division II Coaches Poll on Tuesday afternoon after being idle at No. 22 last week.
• A total of five players for the Hilltoppers are averaging double figures in scoring, led by Christian Montague with 13.5 points and Zach Rasile with 11.8 points per game, while Chaz Hinds and John Korte add 11.3 and 11.2 points per game respectively. Ben Sarson rounds out the group with an average of 10.6 points. Montague and Rasile each have a pair of games with 20 or more points in 2023-24 while Sarson has once after scoring a season-high of 21 in the win over the Bobcats on Wednesday.
• Montague, who ranks fourth in the MEC in total 3-pointers (31) and fifth in 3-pointers per game (2.38), has knocked down 31-of-63 shots from deep for 49.2 percent. Hinds ranks sixth and eighth respectively in the league with 30 total 3-pointers and 2.31 3-pointers per game on 30-of-80 (37.5%) shooting from beyond the arc this season.
• The Hilltoppers have made a 3-pointer in 804 consecutive games, a streak dating back to November 14, 1999. In their last outing against Frostburg State, they reached double digit made 3-pointers for the tenth time this season with 18 made shots.
• Sarson and Korte lead WLU on the glass, securing 4.6 and 4.5 rebounds per game. The pair has grabbed four or more boards on nine and five occasions respectively. Korte recorded a West Liberty season-high of 12 rebounds in the win over Frostburg State.
• Montague ranks second in the MEC dishing out 64 total assists and is third with an average of 4.9 assists per game. He has tallied five or more assists in eight games, including a season high of seven on three occasions.
• In the Hilltoppers' win over Frostburg State a total of 11 players recorded an assist, including eight players with three or more. Alek West led the way with a game-high of six on the night.
• West's 4.00 assist/turnover ratio ranks fifth in DII as he has dished out 44 assists compared to only 11 turnovers. Montague also ranks 12^th nationally with a 3.20 assist/turnover ratio, totaling 64 assists compared to 20 turnovers.
• The WLU defense is spearheaded by Spadafora who leads the MEC and ranks 21^st with 2.38 steals per game and 23^rd with 31 total steals. Montague is another player to watch, ranking second in the league in total steals (29) and third in steals per game (2.23). Montague has posted ten multi-steal games while Spadafora has notched eight.
• Sarson leads the team with 14 total blocked shots, averaging 1.08 per game this season. He has recorded five games with two or more blocks.
• Ben Howlett, who is in his seventh season as the head coach at West Liberty, will coach his 200^th career game on Saturday and enters with a record of 171-28 (.859) with the Hilltoppers. He is tied for the best winning percentage of coaches with a minimum of five years of experience across all NCAA divisions, joined by his predecessor Jim Crutchfield (current head coach at Nova Southeastern) who is 507-83 (.859).

FAIRMONT STATE STORYLINES

• Fairmont State enters Saturday's game with a record of 10-3 (4-3 MEC) following Wednesday's 84-82 win at Wheeling.
• The Falcons are currently tied for fifth place in the league standings with West Virginia State.
• Fairmont State appeared in the first regular season NABC Coaches' Poll at No. 8 after a 4-0 start to the season, however a 3-game losing streak dropped them from the rankings two weeks later. Since the losing streak they have won six consecutive games.
• Through 13 games FSU is averaging 84.2 points, 38.3 rebounds, 15.7 assists, 8.2 steals, and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting the ball 45.9 percent from the field, 35.3 percent from 3-point range, and 71.5 percent from the free throw line.
• Fairmont State ranks within the top-25 of NCAA Division II in two statistical categories, ranking eighth in 3-point attempts per game (29.2) and 18^th in 3-pointers per game (10.3).
• Four Falcons are averaging double figures in scoring, led by David Jolinder and Zyon Dobbs who rank sixth and seventh in the MEC with 15.1 and 15.0 points per game respectively, while Tommy Williams and Cameron Whiteside add scoring averages of 13.3 and 13.0. Jolinder and Williams each have three games of 20 or more points this year while Dobbs has two and Whiteside one.
• Williams leads the conference in 3-pointers per game (3.15) and total 3-pointers (41), ranking 15^th and 27^th nationally in the categories. He is shooting 41-of-95 for 43.2 percent which is third in the conference and 34^th in DII. Another player to watch from deep is Jolinder who is 22-of-53 for 41.5 percent.
• Seth Younkin is the conference leader with 8.1 rebounds per game and 105 total boards. He also adds 2.85 offensive rebounds per game which is third in the MEC. Younkin has reached double digit rebounds in four games, including a season-high of 15 against Concord.
• Dobbs and Whiteside are the facilitators of the FSU offense. Dobs ranks fourth in the MEC with 4.1 assists per game and 53 total assists while Whiteside is fifth with an average of 4.0 assists and 52 total assists. Dobbs and Whiteside have each dished out five or more assists in five games.
• Whiteside's assist/turnover ratio of 2.00 ranks fourth in the conference as he has totaled 52 assists compared to 26 turnovers.
• On the defensive side of the ball, Whiteside is sixth in the conference with 20 total steals and ranks seventh with an average of 1.54 steals per game. He has seven multi-steal games in 2023-24.
• Jolinder, Younkin, and Callum Crossman have each tallied a team-high 11 blocks on the year for the Falcons.
• Tim Koenig is in his fifth season as the head coach at Fairmont State, holding a record of 95-31 during his time with the Falcons. Overall, he is in his 11^th season overall as a head coach, spending six prior seasons at MEC foe Notre Dame (OH) and has a career record of 188-119.

SERIES HISTORY

• Fairmont State leads the all-time series 98-86, however West Liberty is 25-8 in the series since the 2010-11 season.
• The Hilltoppers won their second straight game against the Falcons with a 112-82 victory in the MEC Tournament Championship on March 5, 2023, in Wheeling.
• In the last match-up, Chaz Hinds scored 15 points and connected on 3-of-5 from 3-point range, while also grabbing five rebounds. Ben Sarson was also in double figures with 13 points in the game.