GLENVILLE, W.Va. - Glenville State Men's Basketball is lined up to host Wheeling tomorrow (Jan. 17) and travel to No. 20 West Liberty on Saturday (Jan. 20) in a pair of MEC matchups. The Pioneers were swept in both matchups against WLU last season but defeated Wheeling three times, including their matchup in the first round of the MEC Tournament.
GAME INFORMATION
Wednesday, January 17 | 7:30 p.m. | Waco Center
Glenville State vs Wheeling
Watch on MEC.TV | Live Stats
Saturday, January 20 | 4 p.m. | ASRC
Glenville State at #20 West Liberty
Watch on MEC.TV | Live Stats
THE OPPONENTS
WHEELING
The Cardinals enter (5-8, 2-5 MEC) after losing both games last week to Fairmont State and Frostburg State. In the two losses, WU lost by a combined seven points.
Chris Richardson is in his fourth season leading the Cardinals. Wheeling has made the MEC Tournament in his first three seasons at the helm, including a semifinal run during the 2021-22 season. Richardson was an assistant at Central Missouri for six seasons before landing the HC gig at Wheeling. He's also had stints as an assistant at Delta State, Fairmont State, Charleston and Arkansas Tech.
Marcus Johnson is one of the more premiere scorers in the league, averaging 21.8 PPG while grabbing a team leading 7.7 RPG and 3.5 APG. Sean Ealy adds 14.5 PPG and Caleb Murray is scoring 10.8 PPG to aid the Cardinal offense. William Gabbert is nearing double figures at 9.2 PPG to add another scorer.
WEST LIBERTY
The No. 20 Hilltoppers come in (11-3, 6-1 MEC), riding a three-game winning streak with wins over UVA Wise, Frostburg State and Fairmont State most recently. In last week's wins over the Bobcats and Falcons, WLU surpassed the century mark in both games.
Ben Howlett is in year #7 leading the Hilltoppers. In his storied tenure with WLU, Howlett has amassed 172 wins to just 28 losses with a National Championship game appearance last year, falling to former WLU Head Coach Jim Crutchfield's Nova Southeastern. He has also gathered three MEC Coach of the Year awards, six regular season MEC regular season titles, three MEC Tournament championships and multiple All-Conference and All-Region selections.
Many consistent scorers has been the motto for the Hilltoppers over the years, continuing this year with five players averaging double figures. Christian Montague is leading all scorers with 12.6 PPG as well as leading the assist category at 4.9 APG. Zach Rasile (11.8 PPG), Chaz Hinds (11.5 PPG), John Korte (11.2 PPG) and Ben Sarson (10.6 PPG) all average double digits. Alek West (9.6 PPG) and Dante Spadafora (9.4 PPG) are also nearing double figures. The Hilltoppers are averaging 102.4 PPG which ranks 3rd in the country.
THE PIONEERS
GLENVILLE STATE
The Pioneers enter the new week (8-6, 4-3 MEC) following a split against Davis & Elkins (L, 92-75) and West Virginia Wesleyan (W, 93-54) last week.
Dominiq Penn continues to sit atop the team leaderboard in scoring at 14.8 PPG. Jordan Turbo Smith returned to the hardwood against D&E after missing four games, putting his averages to 13.1 PPG, 4.1 APG, 4.2 RPG and 1.9 SPG. Devin Collins (12.6 PPG) and Jay Scott (11.1 PPG) round out the double-digit scorers for the Pioneers. Collins leads the rebounding efforts at 5.9 RPG, followed by Jaelin Johnson's 5.4 RPG.
To stay connected with the Pioneers during the year, fans can follow Glenville State Men's Basketball on Twitter (X) @GSUMensHoops and Instagram @GSU_MBB for news and score updates plus many more all season long.
