GLENVILLE, W.Va. - Glenville State Men's Basketball is slated to host West Liberty tomorrow night (Feb. 21) and head to Wheeling on Saturday (Feb. 24) for a matchup with the Cardinals. GSU fell to the Hilltoppers earlier in the year on the road but pulled out a gritty win against Wheeling on Jan. 17.
GAME INFORMATION
Wednesday, February 21 | 7:30 p.m. | Waco Center
Glenville State vs West Liberty
Watch on MEC.TV | Live Stats
Saturday, February 24 | 4 p.m. | McDonough Center
Glenville State at Wheeling
Watch on MEC.TV | Live Stats
THE OPPONENTS
WEST LIBERTY
The Hilltoppers are (19-5, 13-3 MEC) coming into this week and are winners of their last four games, including a 25-point win over Fairmont State on Saturday evening.
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.
Five Hilltoppers are averaging 10+ PPG, led by Christian Monteague's 12.0 PPG and 4.5 APG. John Korte (11.9 PPG), Zach Rasile (11.8 PPG), Ben Sarson (11.0 PPG) and Chaz Hinds (10.2 PPG) are also in double figures for WLU. Korte's 6.0 RPG is first on the team while Alek West is grabbing 4.7 RPG and scoring 9.3 PPG.
WHEELING
The Cardinals enter (8-15, 5-12 MEC) after a split last week against Fairmont State (L, 89-66) and Frostburg State (W, 88-62).
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 leads the league in scoring at 21.5 PPG and is third in the MEC in rebounding at 7.5 RPG. Johnson is accompanied by Sean Ealy on the offensive end as he chimes in with 13.3 PPG. Johnson is truly a do it all player for the Cardinals, leading them in other categories like assists (3.3 APG) and steals (1.3 SPG).
THE PIONEERS
GLENVILLE STATE
The Pioneers come in (12-12, 7-9 MEC) after losing to D&E on Wednesday but bouncing back on Saturday with a win over WVWC.
The top three scorers for the Pioneers combine for over 40 PPG, led by Jordan Turbo Smith's 13.6 PPG. Devin Collins is scoring 13.5 PPG and Dominiq Penn adds 13.2 PPG. Smith also leads the team in assists (5.3 APG) and steals (1.6 SPG). Collins brings down 5.5 RPG to lead the blue and white.
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.
