Men's Basketball | 2/21/2017 4:11:00 PM

MONTGOMERY, West Virginia — The 2016-17 River States Conference (RSC) Men's Basketball Tournament will feature a quarterfinal match-up between No. 2 (East Division) WVU Tech and No. 3 (West Division) Asbury University in the Baisi Athletic Center on Wednesday, February 22. Students and Golden Bear fans are encouraged to wear gold for a gold rush in the Baisi Athletic Center.

The top four teams from each of the RSC East and West Divisions qualified for the conference tournament. The eight-team, single elimination tournament tips off at 7 p.m. with four first-round games around the conference. Winners advance to the semifinals on Saturday, February 25 and the finals are Tuesday, February 28.

Tech and Asbury faced each other on January 17 where Tech (22-7) came out on top with a score of 106-89 over the Eagles (16-13).

RECORDS

• Tech is 13-2 after their last 15 contests and is 13-1 at home this season.
• The Eagles posted a 9-6 record in their last 15 games, including the 106-89 loss to the Gold and Blue.

GOLDEN BEAR NOTES

• WVU Tech is currently ranked No. 20 in the NAIA Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 poll with 120 points
• Scoring leaders in Tech's win over Asbury included freshman Junior Arrey (23), junior Ryan Atkins (19) and seniors Hunter Moles (11) and Patrick Gnagbo (11)
• The team averages 90.9 points per game compared to their opponents' 74.2 points per game
• The Golden Bears have six top-5 rankings in the NAIA DII:
  • No. 1 in offensive rebounds per game, 15.379
  • No. 2 in total rebound margin, 12.966
  • No. 3 in total rebounds per game, 43.828
  • No. 4 in scoring margin, 16.690
  • No. 4 in total rebound defense, 30.862
  • No. 5 in total rebound offense, 1,271
• Atkins was named RSC Player of the Year
• Head coach Bob Williams earned RSC Coach of the Year
• Junior Elisha Boone is the RSC Newcomer of the Year
• Atkins and Boone also earned All-RSC first team accolades

SCOUTING ASBURY

• The Eagles currently sit in third in the RSC West Division with a conference record of 9-9
• Asbury averages 98.79 points per game
• The team holds five No. 1 rankings in the nation (NAIA DII):
  • Scoring offense per game, 98.793
  • Steals per game, 10.897
  • Turnover margin, 5.759
  • Total steals, 316
  • Total scoring offense, 2,865
• Asbury's leading scorer is Trenton Thompson who has averaged 21.21 points per game this season including 15 against Tech

 

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