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(PRINCETON, W.Va.)---The top four teams in the current WVIAC men's basketball standings collide on Thursday night.  Nationally ranked West Liberty (15-1, 11-1) welcomes Alderson-Broaddus (15-2, 11-1) to the Northern Panhandle, while league-leading West Virginia State (15-2, 11-1) travels to fourth place Fairmont State (14-3, 9-3).

West Liberty owns a 25-game home court win streak and the Hilltoppers are currently on an overall ten-game run.  Jim Crutchfield's high-octane squad leads Division II at 109.2 points per game.  The pace has quickened since the calendar rolled over into 2010 as the Toppers are putting up a mind-boggling 118.9 points per game over the last nine.

Guards Corey Pelle (18.8 ppg, 5.9 apg) and Mike Mathey (17.1 ppg, 6.3 apg, 6.1 rpg) trigger the Topper attack.  Jordan Fortney (14.4 ppg), John Wolosinczuk (14.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg), and Barry Shetzer (13.9 ppg) are each double figure scorers for West Liberty.  Six different WL players have made at least 19 three-pointers this season and the Toppers average a Division II-best 14.1 trifectas per night.

Alderson-Broaddus has won 15 straight since close losses to No. 6 Indiana (PA) and Charleston to open the season.  The Battlers are the WVIAC's best in scoring defense (66.1 ppg), field goal percentage defense (.412), and rebounding margin (+7.2 rpg).

Head coach Greg Zimmerman's squad is led by senior guard Terrell Eargle, the national leader in steals with 66.  He also adds 15.6 points per game and tops the WVIAC with 11.4 rebounds per outing.  The Ohio native also dishes out over four assists per game to rank seventh in the league.  Long-range bomber Jamar Board is Division II's most-prolific three-point artist with 5.2 made per game.  His 20.7 points per game stand third in the WVIAC.  Local product Mark Summerfield adds 12.1 points per game for the Battlers.

The teams split a pair of meetings last season.  Homestanding West Liberty claimed the regular season matchup 97-87 behind Pelle's 27 points.  A-B exacted revenge in the WVIAC Tournament semifinals by ending the Toppers' season 97-78.  Eargle notched a near triple-double of 9 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists in the Battler victory.

West Virginia State head coach Bryan Poore hopes his team gets off to a quicker start on Thursday evening than they have in recent matchups.  The Jackets have trailed by double digit margins at the half during three of their past four contests.  WVSU rallied for wins over Ohio Valley and Concord, but fell at Alderson-Broaddus.

Darren Jones leads WVSU with 20.9 points per game.  Nebraska transfer Cookie Miller missed Monday's 75-69 win over Concord due to a one-game suspension, but is expected back for the FSU showdown.  He contributes 20.2 points and 5.2 assists per night for the Jackets.  Bo King adds 13.1 points per game.  Forward Fred Harris is the Division II's leading shotblocker with 73 rejections.  He also paces the Jackets with 7.5 rebounds per night.

Fairmont State's WVIAC title hopes were dealt a serious blow with Monday's 90-76 upset loss at Shepherd, but a victory would give FSU a marquee win to impress the NCAA Atlantic Region's post-season selection committee.  Sophomore Steve Custis is the Falcons' top scorer at 17.8 points per game.  Issac Thornton (14.5 ppg), Terrence Green (13.3 ppg), and Dan Bruner (12.8 ppg) are also key contributors for Tim Murphy's squad.

Wheeling Jesuit (11-6, 8-4) will try to slow down Davis & Elkins' (10-6, 8-4) standout backcourt in a pairing of squads looking to solidify their spots in the top half of the WVIAC standings.

Seton Hill's (8-9, 6-6) Chris Giles leads the WVIAC with 21.2 points per game, but his squad could face a tough test when up-and-down Charleston (10-7, 9-4) invades Greensburg.

Thursday's WVIAC men's basketball action is rounded out by Concord (4-13, 3-9) at Pitt Johnstown (9-9, 5-8), Bluefield State (3-14, 3-9) at Shepherd (5-13, 5-8), West Virginia Wesleyan (3-15, 3-10) at Salem International (1-17, 1-11), and Glenville State (5-13, 4-9) at Ohio Valley (3-15, 2-11).