West Liberty, W.Va. – The No. 16 West Liberty University men's basketball team will make their 15^th consecutive NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament appearance on Friday, March 15, as they are set to face Millersville who earned an at-large bid out of the PSAC. The Hilltoppers and Marauders are set to battle in the No. 4 vs. No. 5 seed match-up in the Atlantic Region in the 7:30 p.m. nightcap at the Hagerty Family Events Center in Erie, Pennsylvania.
 
GAME DETAILS

• Location: Erie, Pennsylvania (Hagerty Family Events Center)
• Tip-Off: 7:30 P.M.
• Local Restaurants Steaming the Game: TJ's Sports Garden Restaurant (Wheeling), Generations Restaurant & Pub (Wheeling), and Alpha Tavern (Wheeling)

 
#16 WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Friday's first round NCAA Tournament game with a record of 25-6 (17-3 MEC) following a 78-68 loss to No. 12 Charleston in the championship of the MEC Tournament on Sunday, March 10.
• The Hilltoppers clinched a share of their 14^th regular season conference title in the past 15 seasons.
• 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. Additionally, Korte and Rasile were named to the MEC All-Tournament Team.
• After a 2-1 week at the MEC Tournament, WLU fell to No. 16 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 (432-56, .885) and have the best home winning percentage (233-11, .955).
• Through 31 games WLU is averaging 97.4 points, 38.5 rebounds, 22.5 assists, 10.8 steals, and 2.9 blocks per game, while shooting the ball 47.1 percent from the field, 35.8 percent from 3-point range, and 74.9 percent from the free throw line.
• The Hilltoppers lead NCAA Division II in assist/turnover ratio (2.01), assists per game (22.5), bench points per game (43.87), and 3-point attempts per game (33.7). They also rank second in 3-pointers per game (12.1) and are third in scoring margin (+17.9) and turnover margin (+8.4).
• 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 (102.6 ppg) is led by Jordan Fee who played at WLU from 2010-12, Nova Southeastern (102.5 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 11.4 points per game apiece. Joining them are Christian Montague (11.2), Ben Sarson (10.6) and Chaz Hinds (10.1).
• 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.
• Hinds and Rasile lead WLU with 2.32 and 2.30 3-pointers per game, ranking fourth and fifth in the MEC.
• Spadafora leads the team at 43.5 percent from beyond the arc on 54-of-124 shooting while Rasile is 69-of-172 for 40.1 percent.
• The Hilltoppers have reached double digit made 3-pointers in 20 of their 31 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.
• Korte ranks ninth in the league in free throw percentage at 80.4 percent (123-of-153). Spadafora and Finley Woodward are also a pair of the five players shooting 80 percent or better from the free throw line, going 58-of-69 (84.1%) and 34-of-43 (81.4%) respectively.
• Korte leads the team on the glass with 6.0 rebounds per game while West is second with 4.4 boards per game. The pair has grabbed four or more boards in 23 and 17 games respectively. With points and rebounds Korte and Sarson have the only double-doubles for West Liberty this season.
• Montague and West rank fourth and eighth in the conference in assists per game, averaging 4.2 and 3.4 respectively. The pair has tallied five or more assists in 13 and seven games respectively.
• West ranks fifth nationally in assist/turnover ratio entering the postseason and is averaging 3.43 with 103 assists and 30 turnovers this season. Montague is 37^th nationally and is now at an average of 2.35, dishing out 129 assists compared to 55 turnovers.
• The WLU defense has three of the top-6 leaders in steals per game in the MEC, led by Spadafora, West, and Montague who rank second, fourth, and sixth respectively. Spadafora is averaging 1.62 steals per game to lead the team while West and Montague add 1.53 and 1.42 per game. West has recorded 14 multi-steal games while Montague and Spadafora have 13 and 12.
• Sarson is seventh in the conference in blocks per game as he averages 0.96 per game. 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 186-31 (.857) with the Hilltoppers and 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.

MILLERSVILLE STORYLINES

• Millersville enters Friday's first round NCAA Tournament game with a record of 24-6 (18-4 PSAC) following a 98-64 loss at No. 3 Gannon in the semifinals of the PSAC Tournament.
• The Marauders clinched a share of the regular season title in the PSAC East Division.
• With the release of the all-conference teams and awards, Matt Dade and Jaden Faulkner earned First Team All-PSAC East honors while Drew Stover garnered Second Team All-PSAC East recognition.
• Through 30 games, MU is averaging 81.9 points, 35.2 rebounds, 15.0 assists, 6.9 steals, and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting the ball 49.3 percent from the field, 36.2 percent from 3-point range, and 72.2 percent from the free throw line.
• Millersville ranks inside the top-25 of NCAA Division II in three statistical categories, ranking ninth in free throws made per game (18.4), 12^th in free throw attempts per game (25.4), and 17^th in field goal percentage (49.3%).
• Dade leads the team and ranks sixth in the PSAC in scoring with 18.7 points per game. He is joined in double figures by Faulkner (16.6), Stover (13.3), and Day Waters (13.3). Faulkner has 12 games of 20 or more points while Dade has ten, Stover has four, and Waters has on three occasions.
• Waters is the top scoring threat from beyond the arc, averaging 2.13 3-pointers per game which ranks ninth in the conference. He is shooting 64-of-153 (41.8%) from deep this season.
• Waters also ranks tenth in the league in free throw percentage, as he has knocked down 78-of-98 (79.6%) from the charity stripe.
• On the glass Dade and Stover lead the way with an average of 5.7 rebounds apiece. The pair has grabbed five or more boards on 20 and 17 occasions. Stover has secured four double-doubles while Dade has once.
• Faulkner and Jahme Ested are the facilitators of the Marauder offense, averaging 4.9 and 3.5 assists per game which ranks third and 11^th in the PSAC. They have dished out five or more assists on 13 and five occasions.
• Faulkner leads Millersville on the defensive side of the ball as he averages 1.40 steals per game, and has collected multiple steals in 11 games this season.
• Stover is the rim protector for the Marauders, leading the PSAC and ranking 37^th nationally with 1.57 blocks per game. He has posted multiple blocked shots in 14 games in 2023-24.
• Casey Stitzel is in his seventh season as the head coach at Millersville with a record of 117-89 during his time with the Marauders. Overall, he is in his 15^th season as a collegiate head coach after spending the previous eight seasons (2008-16) at Delaware Valley and has a career record of 233-185.

SERIES HISTORY

• West Liberty and Millersville will meet for just the third time with the all-time series tied at 1-1.
• The teams last met during the 2009-10 season when the Hilltoppers earned a 91-66 victory.