West Liberty, W.Va. - The No.3 ranked West Liberty University men's basketball team will play in the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic Thursday and Friday at the South Point Arena inside the South Point Hotel and Casino.
In their opener the Hilltoppers will face No.10 Colorado School of Mines, out of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, this will be the first meeting between the two programs.
The Orediggers enter at 8-1 and have won eight in a row since dropping their season opener. They are led by Majok Deng with 16.9 ppg., Juani Dassie 12 ppg., Alex Romack 11.2 ppg., and Riley Schroeder with 10.4 ppg. As a team they average 85.3 ppg. While allowing 70.1 ppg.
Friday the Hilltoppers will face unbeaten Missouri S&T (7-0) out of the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Toppers and the Miners also met in Las Vegas in 2022 a 96-88 West Liberty win led by 29 points from now WLU assistant coach Bryce Butler.
S&T is led by Andrew Young at 14.4 ppg. he is one of four double-figure scorers for the Miners. Ryan Sroka averages 13.7 ppg., Lovell Williams 11.2 ppg., and Alex Benassi 10.4 ppg.
As a team they average 91.9 ppg. while allowing only 63.7 ppg.
The Hilltoppers enter the tournament averaging 94.7 ppg. And five players averaging double figures led by Kyler D'Agustino at 17.5 ppg. JJ Harper is second at 15.2 ppg., Dante Spadafora at 13.1 ppg., Finley Woodward 11.4 ppg., and Kameron Tinsley 10.5 ppg.
Topper fans can head to the Alpha Tavern in Woodsdale for a watch party to watch the games for free.
The games will also be available through FloSports a pay per view streaming service.
After the Las Vegas event, West Liberty will enjoy a brief holiday break before resuming MEC play on January 8 with a road game at Frostburg State.
