HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – West Liberty University head men’s basketball coach Jim Crutchfield sees Wednesday’s NCAA Division II Elite Eight quarterfinal between his No. 3-ranked Hilltoppers (32-2) and unranked Stonehill, Mass. (24-8) as a classic battle between the irresistible force and the immovable object.
“You’re certainly looking at two teams with contrasting styles,” Crutchfield said. “Stonehill is a very deliberate defensive-oriented team that has been holding people to 57-58 points a game while we’re averaging more than 50 points a half. We’ve seen people try to slow us down before and I’m sure Stonehill has had teams try to speed them up. It should make for a very interesting matchup.”
West Liberty is making its second straight appearance in the Elite Eight after advancing to the national semifinals a year ago in Springfield, Mass. This year’s event is being hosted by Northern Kentucky University at the 9,400-seat Bank of Kentucky Center but Crutchfield thinks his team will benefit from last year’s trip.
“It’s a great experience to play in a national championship tournament,” said Crutchfield, a 4-time WVIAC Coach of the Year who leads all NCAA coaches in winning percentage (207-42, .831), “but there are so many things that go along with it – the interviews, the travel, the activities – that you can’t let yourself lose focus on why you’re there in the first place. After playing in last year’s Elite Eight, I think our guys have a little better idea what to expect.”
Coming off a second straight Atlantic Region championship and a third consecutive West Virginia Conference crown, West Liberty enters this week’s tournament as the hottest team in the nation. The Hilltoppers have won 30 of their last 31 games and are coming off a run of three straight double-digit wins in the Atlantic Regional.
All-America junior guard Alex Falk (17.7 ppg.), the only returning starter from last year’s squad, leads six double-figure scorers on a WLU squad that averages nearly 103 points per game and has already clinched its sixth national scoring title in the past seven seasons.
Joining Falk in the starting lineup are 6-0 sophomore guard Cedric Harris (16.1 ppg.), a first-team All-WVIAC selection; 6-4 freshman wing C.J. Hester (14.6 ppg., 8.6 rpg.), the WVIAC Freshman of the Year; and the junior tandem of 5-7 Tim Hausfeld (12.3 ppg.) and 6-6 Chris Morrow (13.1 ppg.).
Leading the Hilltopper reserves are 6-0 freshman guard Shawn Dyer (11.4 ppg.), 6-5 sophomore Keene Cockburn (7.8 ppg., 4.3 rpg.) and 6-7 sophomore Nick Brown (7.9 ppg., 3.7 rpg.).
The Skyhawks, coached by two-time Northeast-10 Coach of the Year David McLaughlin, are ranked No. 4 nationally in scoring defense (58.7 ppg.) and have held 31 of their 32 opponents to 73 points or less this season.
Brian Hamor, a 6-2 junior guard who was named MVP of the East Region Tournament, leads Stonehill in scoring at 14.3 ppg. with the Skyhawks’ two senior starters – 6-1 Andre Tongo (12.7 ppg.) and 6-5 Patrick Lee (10.7 ppg., 8.7 rpg.) – also averaging double-figures. Sam Markle (4.3 ppg.), a 6-1 junior guard, and 6-7 freshman Jack Cole (5.0 ppg., 5.5 rpg.) round out the starting lineup.
Stonehill’s top reserves include 6-6 junior Raheem May-Thompson (6.8 ppg.), a transfer from NCAA Division I Quinnipiac, along with 6-7 junior Adam Fazzini (9.1 ppg.) and 6-4 sophomore Mitchell Amelio (4.6 ppg.).
“Stonehill won their conference tournament when they weren’t the No. 1 seed and they won their regional when they weren’t the No. 1 seed so they’re probably playing their best basketball of the season right now,” Crutchfield said. “I think we have as good a chance as anybody this week but we have to be ready to meet the challenge.”
ELITE EIGHT NOTES
X West Liberty had a morning practice at the Bank of Kentucky Center Tuesday morning and Crutchfield was part of an Elite Eight coaches’ press conference at the arena after lunch
X The team was scheduled to participate in a community involvement activity on Tuesday afternoon
X The Black and Gold will be up early on Wednesday for a 7 a.m. walkthrough before heading to the Bank of Kentucky Center for their noon game, the first of four quarterfinals on the day
X Thursday’s semifinals are set for 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. with the championship game to tip off Saturday at 1 p.m.
THE ELITE EIGHT
(all times EDT)
Quarterfinals
Wednesday, March 21
No. 3 WEST LIBERTY (32-2) vs. Stonehill, Mass. (24-8) Noon
No. 5 Midwestern State, Texas (29-3) vs. No. 12 Western Washington (28-5), 2:30 pm
No. 2 Alabama-Huntsville (29-3) vs. No. 4 Bellarmine, Ky. (28-3), 6 pm
No. 13 Metro State, Colo. (25-6) vs. No. 22 Montevallo, Ala. (27-7), 8:30 pm
Semifinals
Thursday, March 22
WEST LIBERTY/Stonehill winner vs. Western Washington/Midwestern State winner, 7 pm
Ala.-Huntsville/Bellarmine winner vs. Metro State/Montevallo winner, 9:30 pm
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