EVANSVILLE, IN (WTRF)–This is the fifth time in school history that West Liberty will appear in the NCAA division II national semifinals.  

The Hilltoppers advance their record to 32-3 heading into the Final Four, after defeating New Haven on Tuesday.  

Now their upcoming opponent Black Hills State got the quarterfinal win over Minnesota Duluth 86-68 and moved on to the semifinals for the second year in a row.  

They’re big. They’re physical. They have a really good center. I think he’s a division two player of the year. So, we have some things were getting ready for them… They got a lot of good shooters so were trying to not give them open looks in our press and stuff and just limit those open looks.

Zach Rasile, West Liberty Sophomore 

Similar to West Lib, they shot 53 % from the floor and 47% from behind the arc.  

As a program, the Yellow Jackets are 8-1 all time in their NCAA Tournament play while West Liberty’s tournament record stands 33-13. 

The entire Hilltopper roster has yet to see the Final Four and junior Alek West says they’re not done fighting.  

It’s all about us. We have to focus on our game plan and on ourselves and do what we came here to do and try to take everyone out of their stuff. Speed them up and just play our game.

Alek West, West Liberty Junior 

The Toppers draw closer to the finish line as they prepare to battle the third seeded Black Hills State on Thursday at 2 p.m. eastern.