West Liberty, W.Va. – The No. 16 West Liberty University men's basketball team is set for yet another ranked match-up in March as they face the Atlantic Region Tournament hosts and No. 3 team in the country, Gannon. The Hilltoppers and Golden Knights are slated for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off inside the Hagerty Family Events Center.
 
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), Alpha Tavern (Wheeling), and The West (Wheeling)

#16 WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Saturday's second round NCAA Tournament game with a record of 26-6 (17-3 MEC) following a 100-78 win over Millersville in the first round on Friday night.
• 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 (433-56, .885) and have the best home winning percentage (233-11, .955).
• Through 32 games WLU is averaging 97.4 points, 38.5 rebounds, 22.6 assists, 10.8 steals, and 2.9 blocks per game, while shooting the ball 47.3 percent from the field, 35.5 percent from 3-point range, and 75.0 percent from the free throw line.
• Entering the NCAA Tournament the Hilltoppers lead 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 John Korte and Zach Rasile with 11.4 and 11.3 points per game apiece. Joining them are Christian Montague (11.1), Ben Sarson (10.8) 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.
• Entering the tournament Hinds and Rasile ranked fourth and fifth in the MEC and now average 2.28 and 2.23 3-pointers per game.
• Spadafora leads the team at 44.2 percent from beyond the arc on 57-of-129 shooting while Rasile is 69-of-175 for 39.4 percent.
• The Hilltoppers have reached double digit made 3-pointers in 20 of their 32 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 entered the NCAA Tournament ranking ninth in the conference in free throw percentage and is now 81.3 percent (130-of-160) following a perfect 7-of-7 night in the first round contest. Spadafora and Sarson 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 47-of-57 (82.5%) 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 24 and 17 games respectively. With points and rebounds Korte and Sarson have the only double-doubles for West Liberty this season.
• Montague and West enter the tourney ranked fourth and eighth in the conference in assists per game, and now average 4.1 and 3.4 respectively. The pair has tallied five or more assists in 13 and seven games respectively.
• West enters the NCAA Tournament fifth nationally in assist/turnover ratio and is now averaging 3.42 with 106 assists and 31 turnovers this season. Montague also ranked 37^th nationally and is now at an average of 2.32, dishing out 132 assists compared to 57 turnovers.
• The WLU defense entered the postseason with 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 1.6 steals per game to lead the team while West and Montague add 1.5 and 1.4 per game. West has recorded 14 multi-steal games while Montague and Spadafora have 13 and 12.
• Following the MEC Tournament, Sarson ranked seventh in the conference in blocks per game and now averages 1.0 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 187-31 (.858) 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.

#3 GANNON STORYLINES

• Gannon enters Saturday's second round NCAA Tournament game with a record of 30-2 (20-2 PSAC) following a win over Lincoln (Pa.) in Friday's first round contest by a score of 97-63.
• The Golden Knights secured PSAC West Division regular season championship and the PSAC Tournament championship as they orchestrated the best single season turnaround in NCAA history following a 3-23 (3-19 PSAC) season a year ago.
• With the release of the all-conference teams and awards, Josh Omojafo received First Team All-PSAC West honors while Derrick James and Lyle Tipton earned Second Team All-PSAC West.
• In the 16^th and final NABC Division II Coaches' Poll, Gannon was ranked third in the nation.
• Through 32 games, GU is averaging 102.5 points, 38.3 rebounds, 17.4 assists, 12.8 steals, and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting the ball 49.6 percent from the field, 38.4 percent from 3-point range, and 78.4 percent from the free throw line.
• Entering the NCAA Tournament, Gannon leads NCAA Division II in fastbreak points (25.61), free throw attempts per game (27.8), free throws made per game (21.7), and scoring offense (102.6).
• Omojafo enters the NCAA Tournament third in the PSAC in scoring and 25^th nationally, with 20.0 points per game. He is joined in double figures by Tipton (14.9) and Zachary Hobbs (12.1).
• Hobbs is the top scoring threat from beyond the arc knocking down 78-of-191 (40.8%), as he is fifth in the conference with 2.6 3-pointers per game.
• Tipton enters the postseason as the third best player from the charity stripe in the PSAC, knocking down 83.2 percent as he is 94-of-113. Another player to watch is Omojafo who is 218-of-266 (82.0%).
• Mike Montano leads the Golden Knights on the glass, grabbing 6.5 rebounds per game. He has grabbed double figure rebounds on five occasions, leading to three double-doubles.
• Derrick James is second in the PSAC and 24^th in DII with 5.2 assists per game, dishing out double figure assists on three occasions.
• James also leads the PSAC in steals per game and ranks fourth nationally with 2.5 per game. He has collected three or more steals in 15 games.
• Montano is the rim protector for Gannon, blocking 1.0 shot per game and has recorded two or more on seven occasions.
• Jordan Fee, the West Liberty alum and PSAC West Coach of the Year, is in his first season as the head coach at Gannon with a career record of 30-2 during his time with the Golden Knights.

SERIES HISTORY

• Gannon leads the all-time series 4-0.
• The Golden Knights won the most recent meeting during the 2002-03 season by a score of 101-76.