A former member of the Mountain East Conference from 2013-2019, UVA Wise will hit the road to take on a former conference enemy in No. 22 West Liberty on Saturday at 4 p.m.
UVA WISE NEWS AND NOTES
>> The Cavs will finish off the 2023 portion of the season with their final non-conference game of the year against NABC No. 22 West Liberty. The Cavs are 4-3 against non-league foes this season, most recently suffering a 79-76 loss to Conference Carolinas member Chowan before the holiday break. This will be the first and only non-conference road game for UVA Wise this season.
Against the Hawks, UVA Wise was missing its top three scorers in sophomore guard Zion Fruster and Patrick Shelley along with freshman guard Carmelo Pacheco. In total, the Cavs were without an average of 40.3 points, 11.2 rebounds and 8.8 assists while missing the aforementioned trio. The three young guns are shooting a combined 50.5 percent from the floor and 41.7 percent from downtown.
Despite being without their top three scorers, the Cavalier members that did play in the game displayed plenty of grit keeping it down to the wire against a good Chowan team who had not lost a game by more than five points this season.
Junior transfer Lav Cvektovic' made a huge impression in his first start as a Cavalier. Cvetkovic' dropped a career-high 22 points on 8-for-15 shooting from the floor which included four three pointers and numerous clutch buckets to keep the game close down the stretch. Cvetkovic' is expected to make his second start of the season against the Hilltoppers. Sophomore guard Calen Lightford had a trio of season highs despite the loss. He had 15 points, five assists and made four three pointers.
The Cavs will face a familiar enemy in West Liberty, who they played 12 times during their six-season stint in the Mountain East Conference. The two teams play at a very similar style in forcing turnovers, distributing the ball and knocking down threes. The previous 12 meetings with the Hilltoppers were all up-and-down battles and high scoring affairs. In fact, of the three highest scoring games all-time at the Prior Center, two of them are against West Liberty.
ABOUT THE WEST LIBERTY HILLTOPPERS
>> No. 22 West Liberty has statistically been one of the best teams in the country this season. The Hilltoppers were ranked as high as No. 2 by the NABC Coaches' Poll this season but have dropped three of their last four games. However, all three losses have come against teams who are currently either in the NABC Top 25 or receiving votes.
The Hilltoppers rank in the top 10 of all NCAA Division II members in a whopping 11 different categories; A:TO ratio (1.97), assists per game (24.2), bench points per game (46.5), fast break points per game (19.4), scoring margin (19.9), scoring offense (101.5), steals per game (13.6), three point attempts per game (35.3), three pointers made per game (12.5), turnover margin (11.1) and turnovers forced per game (23.4).
West Liberty has six scorers averaging better than 9.9 points per game, led by senior Christian Montague at 13.6 points each night. Montague also leads the team in assists with 57 in total at 5.2 per game. The Hilltoppers also have two players in the top 10 nationally in individual categories. Redshirt sophomore guard Dante Spadafora ranks sixth among all NCAA D2 players in total steals with 30 swipes this year. Senior guard Alek West ranks No. 4 among all players nationally with an A:TO ratio of 4.50
West Liberty has revenge on the brain this season after falling short against Nova Southeastern in the highest scoring NCAA D2 National Championship game a year ago. Historically, the Hilltoppers have gotten the better of UVA Wise when the two teams were conference enemies in the Mountain East. West Liberty is 12-0 against UVA Wise all-time. However, Saturday's contest will be the first meeting since 2019 between the two squads and their first ever matchup as non-conference opponents.
The Hilltoppers are coached by Ben Howlett who owns a 169-28 record in seven seasons at his alma mater. Howlett only has one season with less than 26 wins.
