West Liberty, W.Va. – The 2-time defending and 4-time MEC Tournament Champion, No. 13 West Liberty University men's basketball team will play in their seventh conference tournament title game on Sunday afternoon as they face No. 12 Charleston. The Hilltoppers are searching for revenge after the Golden Eagles swept them earlier this season and will look to do so in just the second-ever nationally ranked finals match-up in the MEC Tournament (2017, No. 11 West Liberty def. No. 1 Fairmont State). The regionally broadcast game on SportsNet Pittsburgh is set to tip-off at 5 p.m. inside WesBanco Arena.
 
GAME DETAILS

• Location: Wheeling, West Virginia (WesBanco Arena)
• Tip-Off: 5 P.M.
• Broadcast & Live Stream: Along with being streamed on the Mountain East Conference Digital Network, Sunday's championship game will be broadcast live on SportsNet Pittsburgh.
• Topper Takeover: Join Hilltopper fans at Topper Takeover at River City Restaurant & Bar in downtown Wheeling two hours prior to tip-off.

#13 WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Sunday's title game in the MEC Tournament with a record of 25-5 (17-3 MEC) following a 77-71 win over (RV) Concord in Saturday's semifinals.
• The Hilltoppers clinched a share of their 14^th regular season conference title in the past 15 seasons, and they earned the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament via the tiebreaker.
• With the release of the all-conference teams and awards, Christian Montague earned First Team All-MEC honors while John Korte and Zach Rasile were named Second Team All-MEC. Kyler D'Augustino was recognized as the MEC Freshman of the Year.
• After extending their win streak to eight games with a pair of MEC wins to close the regular season last week, WLU moved up one spot to No. 13 in Tuesday's NABC Top-25 Coaches' Poll. In the NCAA Atlantic Regional poll, they remained at No. 4 for the second consecutive week and final release leading up to selection Sunday.
• Since 2010 the Black & Gold have posted the best overall winning percentage in NCAA basketball (432-55, .887) and have the best home winning percentage (233-11, .955).
• Through 30 games WLU is averaging 98.3 points, 38.8 rebounds, 22.9 assists, 11.1 steals, and 2.9 blocks per game, while shooting the ball 47.1 percent from the field, 36.0 percent from 3-point range, and 74.7 percent from the free throw line.
• The Hilltoppers lead NCAA Division II in assist/turnover ratio (2.03), assists per game (23.2), bench points per game (45.32), 3-point attempts per game (34.6), and 3-pointers per game (12.2). They also rank second in scoring margin (+19.2) and are third in turnover margin (+8.8).
• 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 (103.3 ppg) is led by Jordan Fee who played at WLU from 2010-12, Nova Southeastern (102.3 ppg) is led by former WLU head coach Jim Crutchfield who was on the sidelines from 2004-17, and Coker (100.1 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 Zach Rasile and John Korte with 11.6 and 11.5 points per game respectively. Joining them are Christian Montague (11.2), Ben Sarson (10.8) and Chaz Hinds (10.4).
• Montague and Rasile have notched 20 or more points in four games apiece this season while Korte has three times, and Sarson and Alek West have twice.
• Montague became the 57^th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points in the Black & Gold with 11 points in the win over the Mountain Lions on Saturday. He now sits at 1,004 and counting.
• Hinds and Rasile lead WLU with 2.4 and 2.31 3-pointers per game. During the regular season they ranked fourth and seventh respectively.
• Spadafora leads the team at 43.4 percent from beyond the arc on 53-of-122 shooting while Rasile is 67-of-168 for 39.9 percent.
• The Hilltoppers have reached double digit made 3-pointers in 20 of their 30 games this year. Additionally, WLU has connected on 15 or more 3-pointers in nine 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. In their quarterfinal match-up with the Pioneers they tied the MEC Tournament single-game record for 3-pointers with 18 in the victory.
• Korte ranked tenth during the regular season in free throw percentage and increased his season average to 81.0 percent (119-of-147) as he is 14-of-15 from the charity stripe in this postseason. Spadafora and Sarson are also a pair of the four players shooting 80 percent or better from the free throw line, going 58-of-69 (84.1%) and 40-of-49 (81.6%) respectively.
• Korte entered the postseason ranked eighth in the league in rebounding and is now averaging 6.0 boards per game while West is second with 4.4 rebounds per game. The pair has grabbed four or more boards in 22 and 17 games respectively. With points and rebounds Korte and Sarson have the only double-doubles for West Liberty this season. Finley Woodward ranked eighth in the MEC during the regular season in offensive rebounds per game and continues to average 1.9 per game.
• Montague and West ranked fourth and eighth in the regular season in assists per game and after the semifinals are now averaging 4.2 and 3.4 respectively. The pair has tallied five or more assists in 13 and seven games respectively.
• West ranked fourth nationally in assist/turnover ratio entering the postseason and is averaging 3.57 after their quarterfinal match-up with 100 assists and 28 turnovers this season. Montague ranked 30^th nationally and is now at an average of 2.40, dishing out 127 assists compared to 53 turnovers.
• The WLU defense had three of the top-5 leaders in steals per game in the MEC at the end of the regular season, led by Spadafora, West, and Montague who ranked second, fourth, and fifth respectively. Spadafora is averaging 1.7 steals per game to lead the team while West and Montague add 1.6 and 1.5 per game. West has recorded 14 multi-steal games while Montague and Spadafora have 13 and 12.
• Sarson ranked seventh in the conference in blocks per game entering the postseason and averages 1.0 per game entering the semifinals. He has recorded eight games with multiple blocks.
• Ben Howlett is in his seventh season as the head coach at West Liberty with a record of 186-30 (.861) with the Hilltoppers and is tied with his predecessor, Jim Crutchfield, for best win percentage across all NCAA divisions for coaches with a minimum of five years of experience.

#12 CHARLESTON STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Sunday's title game in the MEC Tournament with a record of 26-4 (17-3 MEC) following a 104-85 win over West Virginia State in Saturday's semifinals.
• The Golden Eagles clinched a share of their second regular season conference championship in MEC history, with the other one occurring in 2021 when they won the south division title. They earned the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament via the tiebreaker.
• With the release of the all-conference teams and awards, Eddie Colbert III and Tyler Eberhart earned First Team All-MEC honors while DeAirius Barker was named Second Team All-MEC, and Dwaine Jones was named Honorable Mention All-MEC. Colbert III was named the MEC Player of the Year and Dwaine Osborne was the MEC Coach of the Year.
• UC fell two spots to No. 12 in Tuesday's NABC Division II Coaches' Poll, and they remained at No. 3 in the NCAA Atlantic Regional Rankings.
• Through 30 games UC is averaging 86.3 points, 36.3 rebounds, 16.8 assists, 5.6 steals, and 3.4 blocks per game while shooting the ball 52.1 percent from the field, 39.2 percent from 3-point range, and 76.9 percent from the free throw line.
• Charleston ranks inside the top-25 of NCAA Division II in eight statistical categories, leading the country in field goal percentage (51.6%) while ranking fourth in effective field goal percentage (59.4%), sixth in scoring margin (+14.2), 11^th in fouls per game (13.8), 13^th in 3-point percentage (39.1%), 17^th in assists per game (17.2), 23^rd in rebound margin (+6.1), and 24^th in scoring offense (86.1).
• Colbert III, who ranked fourth in the MEC during the regular season, leads the Golden Eagles with 17.9 points per game in 2023-24. He is joined in double figures scoring by Barker (13.3), Eberhart (11.3), and Shunta Wilson (10.6). Colbert III has scored 20 or more points in ten games this season while Wilson, Barker and Eberhart have in six, five and two games respectively.
• Barker is the top scoring threat from beyond the arc, ranking tenth in the league entering the postseason in 3-pointers per game. He has knocked down 61-of-146 (41.8%) from beyond the arc.
• Barker and Colbert III ranked second and third in the MEC in free throw percentage during the regular season and are now shooting 87-of-102 for 85.3 percent and 109-of-128 for 85.2 percent respectively.
• On the glass Colbert III leads UC with 6.0 rebounds per game, securing six or more boards on 19 occasions, including one double figure performance for a double-double. Eberhart is second with 5.0 rebounds per game and has reached double digits twice in rebounds for a pair of double-doubles.
• Jones is the facilitator of the Golden Eagle offense, leading the conference and ranking fifth nationally in assists per game entering the postseason, as he enters the title game with an average of 5.8 assists per game. Additionally, he ranked seventh in DII with an assist/turnover ratio of 3.35, having dished out 175 assists compared to only 57 turnovers. He has dished out five or more assists in 22 games.
• Barker and Jones lead Charleston on the defensive side of the ball with 0.8 steals per game apiece. The pair has each collected multiple steals on five occasions.
• Wilson is the rim protector for UC, ranking sixth in the conference during the regular season and he enters the title game with an average of 1.2 blocks per game. He has recorded 11 multi-block games this season.
• Dwaine Osborne is in his 11th season as the head coach at Charleston, posting a record of 217-101 during his time with the Golden Eagles. Now in his 19th season overall as a collegiate head coach, making prior stops at Glenville State and Texas Permian Basin, he holds a career record of 313-228.

SERIES HISTORY

• Charleston holds a 62-53 advantage in the all-time series; however, West Liberty has won eight of the last 11 meetings between the teams.
• The Golden Eagles defeated the Hilltoppers 76-72 in the last meeting on February 3, 2024, inside the ASRC as the Hilltoppers saw their 31-game home win streak come to an end.
• Alek West led WLU with 21 points in the contest while also dishing out four assists while John Korte added 17 points and 6 rebounds.