Men's Basketball 3/8/2017 4:54:00 PM Chris Myers

Cardinals Sights Set to Even Out Season Series vs. Hilltoppers, First NCAA Win in Five Years

Regional Tournament Central
FAIRMONT, W.Va. – The proverbial 'Rubber Match' was not enough for the 2016-17 Cardinals and Hilltoppers rivalry, according to the NCAA Division II men's basketball committee. Wheeling Jesuit meets familiar foe West Liberty with its sights set to even out the season series Saturday afternoon at Fairmont State.

The Cardinals (23-7) head into the NCAA DII Atlantic Regional as the No. 6 seed and seek its second NCAA playoffs victory in the program history. The defending Atlantic Regional Champions and No. 3 seed Hilltoppers (27-3) stand in the way.

The two Ohio Valley rivals meet for the fourth time this year and third in three weeks as they open the Atlantic Regional First Round in a noon tip-off.

In the regional's other Saturday contests:
No. 2 Shippensburg (26-3) vs. No. 7 Virginia Union (22-7) – 2:30 p.m.
No. 1 Fairmont State (29-2) vs. No. 8 Bowie State (16-14) – 6 p.m.
No. 4 IUP (27-3) vs. No. 5 Kutztown (26-3) – 8:30 p.m.

Tickets: --- Full Ticket Information
Session tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for students.
Each two-game Saturday session takes a separate entry fee and ticket.

Regional Semifinals – Sunday, March 12
Wheeling Jesuit/West Liberty winner vs. Shippensburg/Virginia Union winner – 5 p.m.
Fairmont State/Bowie State winner vs. IUP/Kutztown winner – 7:30 p.m.

Regional Final – Tuesday, March 14
Semifinal winners – 7 p.m.

WJU NCAA Playoff History
• 3^rd Appearance & 2nd-straight
• Regional all-time record: 1-2
• Lost at WJU vs. Mercyhurst (66-65) in First Round
• 2011-12 Regional:
   -vs. Charleston – W, 79-76
   -vs. Shaw – L, 68-92

WJU vs. West Liberty
• Hilltoppers lead all-time series: 85-69
• Each of the last 3 regular season series have been split: 3-3
• 3^rd meeting since Feb. 25
• The 3 meetings have went 145 minutes with 5 overtimes
     -Jan. 19 at West Liberty – WLU 96, WJU 90 2OT
     -Feb. 25 at WJU – WJU 101, WLU 98 3OT
     -Mar. 4 at MEC Semis – WLU 105, WJU 95
     +Total points: WLU 299, WJU 286 – 6.3 ppg margin of victory & 4.3 ppg total point difference per game

• WJU Leading Players:
Pat Moseh – 15.9 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 3.2 apg
Haywood Highsmith – 14.9 ppg, 10.9 rpg, .541 FG%
Preston Boswell – 13.1 ppg, 56 assts, 50 3FGM
Kyle Ritz – 12.9 ppg, 8.1 rpg, . .563 FG%
Jarin Hilson – 9.1 ppg, 2.9 apg, 47 3FGM

• WLU Leading Players:
Dan Monteroso – 18.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg
Devin Hoehn – 16.8 ppg, 85 assists
David Dennis – 13.5 ppg, 188 assists
Clay Guillozet – 11.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg
Zac Grossenbacher – 10.2 ppg, 8.5 rpg

WJU All-Time vs. Rest of the Region & Last Meeting:
vs. Shippensburg: 0-1, Loss 91-84 in 1994-95
vs. Virginia Union: 2-0, Win 76-63 on 12/15/16
vs. Kutztown: 1-0, Win 102-74 on 11/14/14
vs. IUP: 1-3, Loss 82-61 in 2009-10
vs. Bowie State: 1-1, Win 85-83 in 2001-02
vs. Fairmont State: 82-37, Loss 97-86 on 2/1/17

Rest of Region Matchups:
No. 2 Shippensburg vs. No. 7 Virginia Union
•Shippensburg finished second in the PSAC East Regular Season, but it swept through the PSAC Tournament, including a 73-63 win over Kutztown in the title game last Sunday. The Raiders won its first 15 games and holds a 4-1 record against the other regional teams
•Virginia Union had its CIAA Tournament run cut short by Bowie State in the Semifinals, 84-78. Other than Bowie State, the Panthers faced only Wheeling Jesuit (a 76-63 loss) of the other regional teams

No. 1 Fairmont State vs. No. 8 Bowie State
•Fairmont State saw its run as the No. 1 team in the nation end this week after it suffered a 67-65 loss to West Liberty in the MEC Tournament Championship game. It was the Falcons lowest point total of the year. FSU is 5-2 against the other regional squads. The Falcons boast the MEC Player of the Year Matt Bingaya.
•Bowie State ran through the CIAA Tournament and defeated Fayetteville State, 62-54, for the championship. The Bulldogs have won their last 7 games and 9 of 10. Bowie State is 1-5 against the other regional teams with only an 84-78 win in the CIAA Semifinals over Virginia Union as a win.

No. 4 IUP vs. No. 5 Kutztown
•The PSAC West champion IUP had its PSAC Tournament title hopes dashed in the Semifinals by Shippensburg, 90-87 in overtime, after a furious comeback late. IUP had an 18-game win streak going into that semifinal matchup. The Crimson Hawks are 2-3 vs. the other regional teams with wins over Bowie State and Kutztown.
•Kutztown won the PSAC East regular season and fell just shy of adding the PSAC Tournament title to its resume. The 2016 Atlantic Regional runner-up lost a 73-63 contest to Shippensburg in the PSAC championship game. The Golden Bears are 2-3 vs. the rest of the regional teams with wins over Bowie State and Shippensburg.

-GoCards-

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