Top-ranked and unbeaten West Liberty will square off against Anderson (SC) on Wednesday, March 23 at 6 p.m. in the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, Mass.
The Hilltoppers (32-0) are in their first Elite Eight as are the Trojans (21-11). WLU posted an 89-86 victory over Indiana (PA) – last year’s runner-up – in the round of 16 while Anderson stunned No. 3 Augusta State, 75-73, in overtime on ASU’s home floor.
The win over IUP avenged the last time the Hilltoppers have lost a game. In the win, Corey Pelle totaled 23 point, seven rebounds and four assists. Chris Morrow came off the bench to tally 20 points. John Wolosinczuk narrowly missed a double-double with 13 points and nine boards to go along with a team-high three steals. Alex Falk hit for 12 points and Jordan Fortney tallied 11.
In Anderson’s upset of #3 Augusta State (#1 seed in the region), Taylor Shugart and Denzail Jones each accounted for 14 points. Oskars Ernsteins dropped in 12 while Brandon Young dished out seven assists. The Trojans connected on 50 percent of their attempts in the contest (29-of-58). For the season, the squad is scoring 80.4 points a night. The team has 388 assists on the season and 246 steals. Jones leads the team with his 12.3 average. Kevis Cornwell is netting 12.2 while Young hits for 12.1. Trey Britton accounts for 11.8 and Nick Trull 10.6. Cornwell and Young are the top two assist men with 91 and 90, respectfully.
WLU is netting 111.6 points a game and is winning by 31.3 points a night. WLU is connecting on 51.2 percent of its shots and has made 473 three-point attempts (41.8 percent).
The Hilltoppers are canning nearly 75 percent of their foul shots and are out-rebounding opponents by 2.8 a game. A truly unselfish team, WLU has dished out 24.8 assists a game for the season. The squad has also forced 22.3 turnovers a game. The Hilltoppers are blocking 4.3 shots a night.
The last time a school from the WVIAC made it to the Elite Eight was in 199. That season, Salem-Teikyo fell to Metro State 99-94.
WLU will attempt to become the WVIAC’s first school to advance to the Final Four since 1997, when Salem-Teikyo won its Elite Eight game 91-74 over Elizabeth City State before falling to Cal State-Bakersfield 81-68.
For tickets to the Elite Eight, go to http://www.massmutualcenter.com/
To view the entire bracket click here.
To view the NCAA Division II basketball home page click here.
West Liberty’s University television station WLTV-14 will provide live audio coverage of every West Liberty game from the Elite Eight with Reid Amos, voice of the Hilltoppers, calling the play-by-play. The live audio will be available to more than 50,000 Comcast cable subscribers in northern West Virginia and over the internet at www.hilltoppersports.com. The NCAA will stream live video of the quarterfinals at www.ncaa.com. The semifinals will air on CBS College Sports with the championship game set for CBS.