West Liberty, W.Va. – The No. 20 West Liberty University men's basketball team makes their return to MEC play on Sunday, January 28, when they welcome Ohio County foe Wheeling to the hilltop. The Hilltoppers and Cardinals are set for a 4 p.m. tip-off inside the ASRC.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: West Liberty, W.Va. (Academic Sports & Recreation Complex "ASRC")
• Tip-Off: 4 P.M.

#20 WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Sunday's game with a record of 14-3 (8-1 MEC) following a 112-76 win at home over Salem on Wednesday evening.
• The Hilltoppers are currently first place in the league standings.
• After another pair of conference wins the previous week improved West Liberty's win streak to five games, 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 (421-53, .888) and have the best home winning percentage (229-10, .958). The Hilltoppers have won 30 consecutive games inside the ASRC dating back to January 22, 2022.
• Through 17 games WLU is averaging 103.0 points, 39.5 rebounds, 24.5 assists, 12.5 steals, and 3.1 blocks per game, while shooting the ball 48.4 percent from the field, 37.6 percent from 3-point range, and 74.2 percent from the free throw line.
• West Liberty has shot 67-of-82 (81.7%) from the charity stripe in the last four games.
• The Hilltoppers lead NCAA Division II in assists per game (24.5), bench points per game (48.47), 3-point attempts per game (35.4), and 3-pointers per game (13.3). They also rank second in assist/turnover ratio (1.91) and scoring margin (+22.2), and are third in scoring offense (103.0), steals per game (12.5), turnover margin (+9.4) and turnovers forced per game (22.18).
• 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 (106.0 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 (99.6 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 six players for the Hilltoppers are averaging double figures in scoring, led by Christian Montague with 12.9 points and Ben Sarson with 11.7 points per game, while Zach Rasile and Chaz Hinds add 11.5 and 11.2 points respectively. John Korte and Dante Spadafora round out the group with averages of 10.2 and 10.0 points per game.
• Montague has notched 20 or more points in three games this season while Rasile and Sarson have twice. Alek West adds one game of 20 or more points in 2023-24.
• Hinds and Montague are tied for fourth in the MEC with 2.47 3-pointers per game while Rasile and Spadafora are tied for ninth with averages of 2.18 3-pointers per game. Montague leads the team at 48.8 percent from beyond the arc on 42-of-86 shooting while Spadafora is 37-of-76 for 48.7 percent.
• The Hilltoppers have made a 3-pointer in 808 consecutive games, a streak dating back to November 14, 1999. They have reached double digit made 3-pointers in 13 of the 17 games, and became only the second team in all NCAA divisions to make 20 or more shots from deep in multiple games this season as they made 20 against Glenville State and Salem. In the games match-ups with the Pioneers and Tigers, the Hilltoppers shot a combined 40-of-91 (44.0%).
• Korte and Sarson lead WLU on the glass, securing 5.2 and 4.8 rebounds per game. The pair has grabbed four or more boards on nine 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 79 total assists and an average of 4.6 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 fifth in DII as he has dished out 54 assists compared to only 14 turnovers. Montague also ranks 30^th nationally with a 2.63 assist/turnover ratio, totaling 79 assists compared to 30 turnovers.
• The WLU defense is spearheaded by Spadafora who leads the MEC with 37 total steals and is second with an average of 2.18 steals per game, ranking 27^th and 26^th in DII in those respective categories. Montague is second in the league with 36 total steals and is third with 2.12 steals per game, ranking 29^th and 31^st nationally respectively. Montague has posted 12 multi-steal games while Spadafora has notched ten.
• Sarson leads the team with 20 total blocked shots and is averaging 1.18 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 175-28 (.862) with the Hilltoppers. He has regained the best winning percentage amongst coaches with a minimum of five years of experience across all NCAA divisions.

WHEELING STORYLINES

• Wheeling enters Sunday's game with a record of 5-11 (2-8 MEC) following their fifth consecutive loss, an 80-71 defeat at home to Notre Dame on Wednesday evening.
• The Cardinals are currently ninth place in the league standings.
• Through 16 games WU is averaging 82.4 points, 37.2 rebounds, 11.4 assists, 6.2 steals, and 3.9 blocks per game while shooting the ball 44.9 percent from the field, 35.9 percent from 3-point range, and 75.7 percent from the free throw line.
• Marcus Johnson leads the conference with 22.6 points per game and ranks eighth in DII. He is joined in double figures scoring by Sean Ealy who is averaging 14.1 points. Making his season debut on January 17 and playing in three games since then, S.J. Hutchinson is averaging 11.0 points per game. Johnson has notched ten games of 20 or more points this year while Ealy has three.
• Johnson ranks sixth in the conference with 2.47 3-pointers per game as he has shot the ball 37-of-81 (45.7%) from beyond the arc. Caleb Murray is another player to watch as he is 31-of-89 (34.8%) from distance.
• Johnson also leads the conference on the glass with an average of 7.9 rebounds per game. With four double digit rebounding performances, he has secured four double-doubles this year. Kevin Coleman Jr. is second on the team with 5.5 rebounds per game.
• Johnson averages a team-high of 3.3 assists per game, ranking seventh in the league. He has dished out five or more assists on four occasions.
• Coleman Jr. is the rim protector for the Cardinals, averaging 1.47 blocks per game and totaling 22 on the season, ranking third in the MEC in both categories. He has posted two or more blocks in seven games this year.
• Chris Richardson is in his fourth season as the head coach at Wheeling with a 27-66 career record during his time with the Cardinals.

SERIES HISTORY

• West Liberty leads the all-time series 98-70 and has won 11 of the last 12 meetings.
• The teams last met on February 25, 2023 in the ASRC where the Hilltoppers earned a 103-91 victory.
• Christian Montague scored 19 points in the win on 5-of-10 shooting from 3-point range while also posting seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals.