West Liberty, W.Va. – The two longest winning streaks in the MEC will be on the line on Wednesday, January 31, as the No. 17 West Liberty University men's basketball team travels to West Virginia State. The Hilltoppers will be in search of their second season sweep of 2023-24 when they tip-off at 7:30 p.m. inside the Walker Convocation Center in Institute, West Virginia.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: Institute, W.Va. (Walker Convocation Center)
• Tip-Off: 7:30 P.M.

#17 WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Wednesday's game with a record of 15-3 (9-1 MEC) following a 123-76 win at home over Wheeling.
• The Hilltoppers are currently in sole possession of first place in the league standings.
• After another pair of conference wins last week improved West Liberty's win streak to seven games, the Hilltoppers jumped three spots to No. 17 in the NABC Division II Coaches Poll on Tuesday afternoon.
• Since 2010 the Black & Gold have posted the best overall winning percentage in NCAA basketball (422-53, .888) and have the best home winning percentage (230-10, .958). The Hilltoppers have won 31 consecutive games inside the ASRC dating back to January 22, 2022.
• Through 18 games WLU is averaging 104.1 points, 40.1 rebounds, 24.9 assists, 12.6 steals, and 3.0 blocks per game, while shooting the ball 48.5 percent from the field, 37.4 percent from 3-point range, and 75.3 percent from the free throw line.
• West Liberty's offense has started to click during the seven game win streak as they average 108.1 points, 44.1 rebounds, 26.0 assists, 11.0 steals, and 2.9 blocks per game, while shooting the ball 49.7 percent from the field, 40.7 percent from 3-point range, and 79.7 percent from the free throw line during that time span. They hold a scoring margin of +29.4, a rebound margin of +10.7, turnover margin of +6.4, and have been knocking down 14.4 3-pointers per game.
• The Hilltoppers lead NCAA Division II in assists per game (24.9), bench points per game (48.67), 3-point attempts per game (35.3), and 3-pointers per game (13.2). They also rank second in assist/turnover ratio (1.92), scoring margin (+23.6), and scoring offense (104.1), and are third in steals per game (12.6), turnover margin (+9.3), and turnovers forced per game (22.22).
• 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 (106.2 ppg) is led by Jordan Fee who played at WLU from 2010-12, Nova Southeastern (103.6 ppg) is led by former WLU head coach Jim Crutchfield who was on the sidelines from 2004-17, and Coker (98.7 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 12.6 points while Ben Sarson and Zach Rasile add 11.9 and 11.7 points per game. John Korte and Chaz Hinds round out the group by each averaging 10.9 points apiece.
• Montague has notched 20 or more points in three games this season while Rasile and Sarson have twice. Korte and Alek West each have one game of 20 or more points in 2023-24. Korte collected his first 20-point game as a Hilltopper with 21 points against Wheeling on Sunday.
• Hinds leads a group of four WLU players who average more than 2.00 3-pointers per game with 2.39 per game, ranking fourth in the MEC. Montague and Rasile are close behind with 2.33 and 2.17 3-pointers per game respectively which ranks fifth and seventh in the conference. Dante Spadafora rounds out the group with 2.06 3-pointers per game for 12^th in the conference. Spadafora leads the team 48.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc on 37-of-77 shooting while Montague is 42-of-89 for 47.2 percent.
• The Hilltoppers have made a 3-pointer in 809 consecutive games, a streak dating back to November 14, 1999. They have reached double digit made 3-pointers in 14 of their 18 games this year 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 in back-to-back games against Glenville State and Salem. In the match-ups with the Pioneers and Tigers, the Hilltoppers shot a combined 40-of-91 (44.0%).
• Woodward, Spadafora, and Sarson are three of the six players to shoot better than 80 percent from the charity stripe this season. Woodward is 17-of-19 (89.5%), Spadafora is 41-of-47 (87.2%), and Sarson is 34-of-40 (85.0%) on the year from the free throw line.
• Korte and Sarson lead WLU on the glass, securing 5.5 and 4.9 rebounds per game. The pair has grabbed four or more boards on ten and 13 occasions respectively. Sarson holds the team's lone double-double of the season with 11 points and ten rebounds against Fairmont State. Finley Woodward ranks ninth in the MEC with an average of 1.94 offensive rebounds.
• Montague ranks third in the MEC dishing out 84 total assists and an average of 4.7 assists per game, while West ranks sixth with 60 total assists and an average of 3.5 assists per game. The pair has tallied five or more assists in nine and five games respectively.
• West's 4.29 assist/turnover ratio ranks second in DII as he has dished out 60 assists compared to only 14 turnovers. Montague also ranks 29^th nationally with a 2.63 assist/turnover ratio, totaling 84 assists compared to 32 turnovers.
• The WLU defense is spearheaded by Spadafora and Montague who are tied for the most steals in the MEC with 37 and are tied for second with an average of 2.06 steals per game, ranking 42^nd and 35^th in DII in those respective categories. Montague has posted 12 multi-steal games while Spadafora has notched ten.
• Sarson leads the team with 21 total blocked shots and is averaging 1.17 per game this season, ranking fourth and fifth 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 176-28 (.863) with the Hilltoppers. He holds the best winning percentage amongst coaches with a minimum of five years of experience across all NCAA divisions.

WEST VIRGINIA STATE STORYLINES

• West Virginia State enters Wednesday's game with a record of 12-5 (8-3 MEC) following their sixth consecutive win, an 82-75 win at No. 23 Charleston.
• The Yellow Jackets are currently third place in the league standings.
• Anthony Pittman was named the MEC Men's Basketball Player of the Week and the HBCU National Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 27.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in wins over Glenville State and No. 23 Charleston.
• Through 17 games WVSU is averaging 85.1 points, 41.5 rebounds, 12.8 assists, 9.4 steals, and 5.1 blocks per game while shooting the ball 46.2 percent from the field, 36.7 percent from 3-point range, and 72.6 percent from the free throw line.
• West Virginia State ranks inside the top-25 of NCAA Division II in seven statistical categories, ranking eighth in blocks per game (5.1), 11^th in rebounds per game (41.47), 16^th in free throw attempts per game (24.7) and free throws made per game (17.9), 21^st in defensive rebounds per game (28.29), offensive rebounds per game (13.18), and steals per game (9.4).
• Anthony Pittman ranks second in the MEC with 18.0 points per game in 2023-24 to lead five players in double figures scoring. He is joined by Arthur Cox (11.8), Nate Mims (11.2), Miguel Martinez (10.9), and Mahzi Thames (10.0). Pittman has notched 20 or more points on six occasions while Cox has in three games. Mims and Martinez have each reached the 20-point mark once.
• Martinez is the top scoring threat from beyond the arc for the Yellow Jackets, shooting 29-of-57 for 50.9 percent. Mims is another player to watch as he is 25-of-72 for 34.7 percent from deep.
• Kalil Camara leads one of the top free throw shooting teams from the charity stripe as he is 27-of-32 for 84.4 percent on the season. Cox is another player to watch as he is 62-of-80 for 77.5 percent from the free throw line.
• Pittman averages a team-best 7.2 rebounds per game, ranking third amongst the league leaders. He has recorded ten or more rebounds twice for a pair of double-doubles this season. Cox is second on the team with 5.4 rebounds per game and has reached double digits once for one double-double in 2023-24.
• Pittman and Thames are the facilitators of the WVSU offense, averaging 2.9 and 2.5 assists per game. Pittman has dished out four or more assists on five occasions while Thames has four times.
• Mims and Pittman are a pair of the top rim protectors in the MEC, averaging 1.18 and 0.94 blocks per game this season which rank fourth and tenth in the conference. Mims has recorded six multi-block games while Pittman has four times.
• Bryan Poore is in his 25th season as the head coach at West Virginia State, posting a record of 407-307 during his time with the Yellow Jackets. Now in his 26th season overall as a collegiate head coach, making a prior stop at Charleston for one season, he holds a career record of 419-321.

SERIES HISTORY

• West Liberty holds a 59-51 advantage in the all-time series and has won 24 of the past 27 meetings since 2010-11.
• In the third consecutive game in the series to be decided by five points or less, the Hilltoppers earned the 91-89 victory in the first meeting of the season inside the ASRC on December 9, 2023.
• Ben Sarson led four players in double figures scoring with 18 points and added four rebounds. Dante Spadafora added 14 points, which included going 3-of-5 from 3-point range, while also collecting three rebounds, three assists, and two steals.