West Liberty, W.Va. – The No. 20 West Liberty University men's basketball team remains at home in the friendly confines of the ASRC in the midst of a 3-game homestand when they face Salem on Wednesday night. The Hilltoppers look to secure the season sweep of the Tigers as they tip-off at 7:30 p.m. in WLU's final non-conference game of the regular season.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: West Liberty, W.Va. (Academic Sports & Recreation Complex "ASRC")
• Tip-Off: 7:30 P.M.

#20 WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Wednesday's game with a record of 13-3 (8-1 MEC) following a 114-78 victory at home against Glenville State on Saturday evening.
• The Hilltoppers are currently tied for first place in the league standings with No. 23 Charleston.
• After another pair of conference wins last week improved West Liberty's win streak to five games as the Hilltoppers remained at No. 20 in the NABC Division II Coaches Poll for the second consecutive week on Tuesday afternoon.
• Since 2010 the Black & Gold have posted the best overall winning percentage in NCAA basketball (420-53, .888) and have the best home winning percentage (228-10, .958). The Hilltoppers have won 29 consecutive games inside the ASRC dating back to January 22, 2022.
• Through 16 games WLU is averaging 102.4 points, 39.7 rebounds, 24.2 assists, 12.6 steals, and 3.0 blocks per game, while shooting the ball 48.0 percent from the field, 37.1 percent from 3-point range, and 75.3 percent from the free throw line.
• West Liberty has shot better than 84.0 percent from the charity stripe in three consecutive games, combining to shoot 59-of-66 (89.4%) in their last three outings.
• The Hilltoppers lead NCAA Division II in assists per game (24.2), bench points per game (48.50), 3-point attempts per game (34.7), and 3-pointers per game (12.9). They also rank third in assist/turnover ratio (1.89), scoring margin (+21.4), scoring offense (102.4), turnover margin (+9.3), and turnovers forced per game (22.06).
• 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 (107.6 ppg) is led by Jordan Fee who played at WLU from 2010-12, Nova Southeastern (103.2 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.
• A total of five players for the Hilltoppers are averaging double figures in scoring, led by Christian Montague with 13.3 points and Zach Rasile with 11.6 points per game, while Ben Sarson and Chaz Hinds each add 11.0 points apiece. John Korte rounds out the group with an average of 10.6 points.
• With 23 points against the Pioneers on Saturday, Montague has notched 20 or more points in three games this season while Rasile has twice. Sarson and Alek West each have one game of 20 or more points in 2023-24.
• The Hilltoppers have four players who rank within the top-15 of the league leaders in 3-pointers per game, led by Montague who is fourth in the MEC with 2.50 per game after knocking down a career-high of seven from beyond the arc against GSU. Hinds ranks sixth (2.38), Rasile is ninth (2.13), and Dante Spadafora is 13^th (2.00). All four previously mentioned players have made 32 or more total shots from beyond the arc in 2023-24.
• The Hilltoppers have made a 3-pointer in 807 consecutive games, a streak dating back to November 14, 1999. They have reached double digit made 3-pointers in 12 of the 16 games, including 20 against Glenville State which was the most by an MEC team this season.
• Korte and Sarson lead WLU on the glass, securing 5.1 and 4.9 rebounds per game. The pair has grabbed four or more boards on eight and 12 occasions respectively. Sarson holds the team's lone double-double of the season with 11 points and ten rebounds against Fairmont State.
• Montague ranks third in the MEC dishing out 75 total assists and an average of 4.7 assists per game, while West ranks sixth with 54 total assists and an average of 3.4 assists per game. The pair has tallied five or more assists in eight and four games respectively.
• West's 3.86 assist/turnover ratio ranks fourth in DII as he has dished out 54 assists compared to only 14 turnovers. Montague also ranks 34^th nationally with a 2.59 assist/turnover ratio, totaling 75 assists compared to 29 turnovers.
• The WLU defense is spearheaded by Spadafora who leads the MEC with 35 total steals and is second with an average of 2.19 steals per game, ranking 28^th and 25^th in DII in those respective categories. Montague is second in the league with 34 total steals and is third with 2.13 steals per game, ranking 35^th and 30^th nationally respectively. Montague has posted 11 multi-steal games while Spadafora has notched nine.
• Sarson leads the team with 19 total blocked shots and is averaging 1.19 per game this season, ranking fourth and sixth in the MEC. He has recorded seven games with multiple blocks, including a season-high of three against Concord.
• Ben Howlett is in his seventh season as the head coach at West Liberty with a record of 174-28 (.861) with the Hilltoppers. He has regained the best winning percentage amongst coaches with a minimum of five years of experience across all NCAA divisions.

SALEM STORYLINES

• Salem enters Wednesday's game with a record of 5-11 following an 85-70 win at home over Frostburg State to snap a 3-game losing streak.
• Through 16 games SU is averaging 69.3 points, 39.9 rebounds, 10.1 assists, 6.6 steals, and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting the ball 41.7 percent from the field, 31.9 percent from 3-point range, and 67.0 percent from the free throw line.
• Ian Hardy leads four players who average double figures in scoring with 12.8 points per game. He is joined by Jack Garrison IV (12.6), Ashraf Tchadouwa (11.6), and Kapone Barley (10.6). Tchadouwa and Garrison IV have posted three and two games of 20 points or more respectively, while Hardy, Barley, and Khemanni Davis each have one.
• Garrison IV leads the Tigers with 41 made 3-pointers this season, going 41-of-112 for 36.6 percent from deep. Another player to watch from beyond the arc is Davis who is 21-of-57 for 36.8 percent.
• Leading Salem on the glass is Tchadouwa who averages a double-double with 10.4 rebounds per game, which ranks 12^th nationally, to go along with his 11.6 points. He ranks 16^th in DII with seven double-doubles and has secured nine double digit rebounding performances, including a season-high of 17 against Gannon.
• Brandon Francois is the facilitator of the offense for SU, averaging 3.1 assists per game. He has dished out four or more assists in a game on eight occasions.
• On the defensive side of the ball, Francois ranks 18^th nationally with 37 total steals and is 27^th with an average of 2.2 steals per game. He has collected three or more steals in eight games this year.
• Tchadouwa is also the rim protector for the Tiger defense, averaging 1.0 blocks per game. He has recorded multiple blocked shots in four games this season.
• Vincent Thibodeau is in his first season as the head coach at Salem with a career-record of 5-11 during his time with the Tigers.

SERIES HISTORY

• Salem leads the all-time series 66-64, however West Liberty has won the past 14 meetings.
• The teams met earlier this season on November 18, 2023, in Salem, West Virginia, where the Hilltoppers earned the 111-82 victory over the Tigers.
• John Korte led six players in double figures with 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field and grabbed three rebounds. Dante Spadafora added 15 points on 9-of-9 shooting from the free throw line and dished out three assists.