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Zach Rasile vs. Frostburg State
JJ Stout

Hilltoppers Match-Up with Frostburg State in Mid-Week Action

2/13/2024 5:07:00 PM

West Liberty, W.Va. – With momentum starting to build once again after a pair of wins last week, the (RV) West Liberty University men's basketball team faces their second of five road games during the final stretch of the regular season as they travel to Frostburg State on Wednesday, February 14. The Hilltoppers look for their fourth sweep of the season as they are set for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off inside Bobcat Arena in Frostburg, Maryland.

GAME DETAILS
  • Location: Frostburg, Md. (Bobcat Arena)
  • Tip-Off: 7:30 P.M.
[RV] WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES
  • West Liberty enters Wednesday's game with a record of 17-5 (11-3 MEC) following a 101-66 win at West Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon.
  • The Hilltoppers are currently in second place in the league standings.
  • WLU remains receiving votes in the NABC Top-25 Coaches' Poll for the second consecutive week after falling out of the rankings last week for the first time since February 2, 2021, ending a run of 47 consecutive releases they appeared in the poll.
  • Since 2010 the Black & Gold have posted the best overall winning percentage in NCAA basketball (424-55, .885) and have the best home winning percentage (231-11, .955).
  • Through 22 games WLU is averaging 101.5 points, 39.0 rebounds, 24.1 assists, 12.4 steals, and 3.0 blocks per game, while shooting the ball 48.0 percent from the field, 36.5 percent from 3-point range, and 74.7 percent from the free throw line.
  • The Hilltoppers lead NCAA Division II in assist/turnover ratio (1.97), assists per game (24.1), bench points per game (45.68), 3-point attempts per game (35.2), and 3-pointers per game (12.9). They also rank second in scoring margin (+21.4) and are third in scoring offense (101.5), steals per game (12.4), turnover margin (+9.2), and turnovers forced per game (21.45).
  • 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 (105.3 ppg) is led by Jordan Fee who played at WLU from 2010-12, Nova Southeastern (102.8 ppg) is led by former WLU head coach Jim Crutchfield who was on the sidelines from 2004-17, and Coker (100.5 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 and Zach Rasile with 12.3 and 12.0 points per game respectively. Ben Sarson (11.5), John Korte (11.3), and Chaz Hinds (10.5) round out the group.
  • Montague and Rasile have notched 20 or more points in four and three games respectively this season while Sarson and Alek West have twice. Korte has one game of 20 or more points in 2023-24.
  • Rasile leads a group of four WLU players who average more than 2.00 3-pointers per game with 2.36 3-pointers per game, ranking fifth in the MEC. He is joined by Hinds and Montague who are tied for sixth with 2.32 3-pointers apiece, and Dante Spadafora who is 11th with 2.00 3-pointers per game.
  • Spadafora leads the team at 46.5 percent from beyond the arc on 40-of-86 shooting while Montague is 51-of-113 for 45.1 percent.
  • The Hilltoppers have reached double digit made 3-pointers in 17 of their 22 games this year. Additionally, WLU has connected on 15 or more 3-pointers in seven contests, which includes back-to-back games against Glenville State and Salem when they became only the second team in all NCAA divisions to make 20 or more shots in multiple games this year.
  • Among qualifiers for the league leaders, Korte ranks tenth as he has knocked down 82-of-106 shots from the charity stripe for 77.4 percent. Spadafora and Sarson are a pair of five players who shoot better than 80 percent from the free throw line, going 41-of-47 (87.2%) and 34-of-40 (85.0%) respectively.
  • Korte and Sarson lead WLU on the glass, securing 5.6 and 4.7 rebounds per game. The pair has grabbed four or more boards in 14 and 13 games respectively. Sarson holds the team's lone double-double of the season with 11 points and ten rebounds against Fairmont State. Finley Woodward ranks eighth in the MEC with an average of 1.95 offensive rebounds.
  • Montague ranks third in the MEC dishing out 100 total assists and is fourth with an average of 4.5 assists per game, while West ranks sixth with an average of 3.5 assists per game and is seventh with 73 total assists. The pair has tallied five or more assists in ten and six games respectively.
  • West's 4.06 assist/turnover ratio ranks third in DII as he has dished out 73 assists compared to only 18 turnovers. Montague also ranks 21st nationally with a 2.78 assist/turnover ratio, totaling 100 assists compared to 36 turnovers.
  • The WLU defense is spearheaded by the trio of Spadafora, Montague, and West who rank second, third, and fifth respectively in the MEC steals per game. Spadafora has collected 2.05 steals per game and ranks 34th in DII while Montague and West add 1.82 and 1.62 steals per game. Montague has posted 12 multi-steal games while Spadafora and West have each notched 11.
  • Sarson leads the team with an average of 1.11 blocks per game and total of 21 blocked shots this season, ranking fifth and sixth in the MEC. He has recorded seven games with multiple blocks.
  • Ben Howlett is in his seventh season as the head coach at West Liberty with a record of 178-30 (.856) with the Hilltoppers. He is second to only his predecessor, Jim Crutchfield, for best win percentage across all NCAA divisions for coaches with a minimum of five years of experience.
FROSTBURG STATE STORYLINES
  • Frostburg State enters Wednesday's game with a record of 2-20 (2-13 MEC) following a 95-54 loss at No. 21 Charleston on Saturday afternoon.
  • The Bobcats are currently tenth place in the league standings.
  • Through 22 games FSU is averaging 73.5 points, 33.7 rebounds, 10.5 assists, 7.2 steals, and 2.2 blocks per game while shooting the ball 39.3 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from 3-point range, and 70.3 percent from the free throw line.
  • Logan Lewis and Robby Williams are the only two players to score in double figures for the Bobcats, averaging 12.7 and 10.3 points per game respectively. Lewis and Williams have each scored 20 or more points in five games apiece, while JayShaun Freeman and Malcom Day have reached the 20-point mark twice, and Justin Roseme and Zane McCarty each have once.
  • Roseme is the top scoring threat from beyond the arc for FSU, shooting 32-of-72 for a 44.4 percent clip, while Williams is also 34-of-90 from 3-point range for 37.8 percent.
  • Williams and Lewis are the top-2 players at the charity stripe for Frostburg State, as Williams has knocked down 28-of-34 for 82.4 percent and Lewis is 48-of-62 for 77.4 percent.
  • Koby Baptiste leads the Bobcats on the glass, averaging 6.7 rebounds per game. He has grabbed double figure rebounds in four contests, leading to three double-doubles.
  • After only playing in two games prior to the winter break, Jaylin Albury has stepped into a facilitator role for the Bobcat offense. He is averaging a team-high 2.0 assists per game and has recorded three or more in three games. Another key hand for the ball to move through on offense is Jaylon Johnson who is averaging 1.6 assists and has recorded multiple assists in ten games.
  • Lewis and Baptiste spearhead the defense by averaging 1.1 and 1.0 steals per game respectively. Lewis has collected multiple steals on seven occasions while Baptiste has in four games.
  • Zack Thomsen is in his first season as the head coach at Frostburg State, posting a record of 2-20 during his time with the Bobcats. In his eighth season overall as a collegiate head coach, he spent seven prior seasons at SUNY Delhi and has compiled a career record of 125-98.
SERIES HISTORY
  • West Liberty leads the all-time series 15-0.
  • The Hilltoppers won their ninth straight game in the series as MEC foes in a 126-79 win inside the ASRC on January 10, 2024.
  • Ben Sarson led the way for WLU with a team-high 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field, including 5-of-6 shooting from 3-point range, while also collecting a pair of blocked shots and steals. Christian Montague added 14 points and was 4-of-7 from beyond the arc in the contest.
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