This week: Notre Dame College men's basketball will play at home for the first time since December 9. The Falcons battle Shepherd University on January 11 at 7:30 p.m. and Fairmont State University on January 13 at 4 p.m.

Records: The Falcons currently hold a 4-10 overall record and are 2-6 in the Mountain East Conference. Shepherd is 8-6 and 4-4 in the MEC while FSU is 10-4, overall, and 6-2 in the MEC.

Coaches Corner: Tim Koenig is currently in his fifth season at the helm of the Falcons and holds an overall record of 68-67 and has an MEC record of 43-53. Justin Namolik is in his 10th season as head coach at Shepherd. Last season, he coached the Rams to a 19-11 overall record, and 15-7 in the MEC. Joe Mazzulla is in his first season as head coach of Fairmont State. Before being hired as the head man, he coached three years as an assistant coach with the Fighting Falcons.

Rankings: None of these teams were ranked in the latest NABC Division II Coaches Poll. Fairmont State is ranked 10th in the D2SIDA Atlantic Region Poll.

Series History: Notre Dame has a record of 3-6 against Shepherd since 2013-14 and they are 1-9 all-time against Fairmont State since 2013-14.

Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame went 1-1 last week beginning with an 82-79 loss to Glenville State College on January 4. Drew Scarberry missed two shots in the first half but then hit six three pointers and scored 20 points in the second half. Kyauta Taylor added 15 points and six assists while Oliver Megins had 12 points and four rebounds. Taylor is averaging 18.9 points-per-game, ranking fifth in the MEC, and is shooting 88-percent at the free throw line. GSC shot 46-percent from the field and a season-high 40-percent from three point range. NDC then traveled to play West Virginia Wesleyan College and won 79-78 on January 6. Scarberry scored 18 points and shot 50-percent (5-for-10) from the field. He was fouled and knocked down three free throws with three seconds remaining in the game, to put Notre Dame ahead. Taylor scored 23 points on 53-percent (8-for-15) shooting and Megins gave the Falcons 14 points and hit three, three pointers. He also grabbed six boards. Megins leads the team by shooting 48-percent from three point range, this year. Angelo Cugini recorded his third double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds against W.Va. Wesleyan. Cugini averages 9.5 points-per-contest and seven rebounds-per-game. Taylor is also tied for 17th in the NCAA in steals (33). As a team, the Falcons score 84 points-per-game, which is the fourth highest in the MEC, and they shoot 44-percent. NDC ranks sixth in NCAA Division II in three-pointers made-per-game with 12.3 and ninth in total free throws made with 460.

Noting the Rams: Shepherd was victorious in their two games this past week. On January 4, the Rams were leading Concord University by 11 points going into halftime, and won the game by a score of 91-73, despite 38 points from CU's Tommy Bolte. Six players scored in double-digits for the Rams, including four of the five starters. Steffen Davis, averaging 14.1 points-per-game, and Winston Burgess each finished with 19 points. Burgess had 13 rebounds, as well. AJ Carr finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds and now leads the team in both categories (17.1 ppg and 8.6 rpg). The Rams shot 59-percent from the field in the second half and ended the game shooting 56-percent, overall. They had 21 points off turnovers. SU beat the University of Virginia's College at Wise, 85-71 on January 6. Once again, four of the Rams starters finished with double-digit scoring numbers. Carr had his second double-double of the week when he posted 21 points and 11 rebounds. His 8.6 rebounds-per-game ranks third in the MEC. Burgess added 19 points and went 8-for-8 from the floor. He is averaging 10.9 ppg and shoots 71-percent from the field. The Rams shot 60-percent in the game, including 64-perecent in the first half. On the season, the Rams shoot 48-percent from the field and average 80 points-per-game. They are holding teams to the lowest field goal percentage in the conference, on average, at .422. They have gone 1-3 in road conference games this season.

Noting the Fighting Falcons: Fairmont State beat Virginia-Wise by a score of 91-69 on January 4. The Fighting Falcons outscored the Cavaliers by 20 points (48-28) in the first half. Vonte Montgomery, Caleb Davis and R.J. Hutcherson each scored 15 points. Montgomery is averaging 12.3 points-per-game and 5.1 rebounds-per-game this season. Davis added 11 rebounds and leads the team with 6.2 rpg. Five players scored in double-digits against the Cavs. FSU shot 49-percent from the field and had 37 bench points along with 22 total assists. Against Concord University, Fairmont State won 91-77 on January 6. Four players scored in double-digits including Andrew Emrick, who went 12-for-13 from the floor with 28 points and six rebounds. Emrick leads the team in FG percentage at 61-percent. D'Ondre Stockman had 20 points and connected on six three pointers off of the bench. He had 14 of his points in the second half. FSU is averaging nearly 88 points-per-game and they shoot 49-percent from the field, both ranking second in the MEC. The Fighting Falcons are 2-4 away from home.

Raining Threes: These three teams rank third, fourth and fifth in the Mountain East Conference in three point percentage. Shepherd shoots the ball at a 40-percent clip, Fairmont State shoots the ball at 39-percent and Notre Dame shoots the ball at 37-percent from three point range.