This week: Notre Dame College men's basketball is set to begin the second half of their season on January 4 when they travel to Glenville State College for a 7:30 p.m. start. On January 6, the Falcons will be in Buckhannon, W.Va. for a matchup with West Virginia Wesleyan College and have a 4 p.m. tip-off.

Records: The Falcons currently hold a 3-9 record and are 1-5 in the Mountain East Conference. Glenville State is 1-10, 0-6 MEC, and West Virginia Wesleyan has a 1-11 record and a 1-5 MEC record.

Coaches Corner: Tim Koenig is currently in his fifth season at the helm of the Falcons and holds an overall record of 67-66 and has an MEC record of 42-52. Stephen Dye is in his ninth season as the head coach of Glenville State. In 2016-17, Dye led the team to a 12-16 record and went 8-14 in the MEC. Jack Meriwether is in his first season as the official head coach at WVWC. He spent a full season as assistant coach with the Bobcats before being named interim head coach last year.

Rankings: None of these teams were ranked in the latest NABC Division II Coaches Poll.

Series History: NDC is 6-2 against Glenville State since the series started in the 2013-14 campaign. The Falcons hold a 4-5 all-time record against West Virginia Wesleyan since 2012-13.

Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame will play their first game since December 19. On December 16, the Falcons dropped an 86-77 contest to Mercyhurst University. Halil Parks had 19 points, including 15 in the second half, along with six rebounds and six assists. Parks scores an average of 15 points in each contest and shoots 51-percent from the field. Kyauta Taylor scored 14 points. The senior from Cleveland, Ohio is now averaging 18.8 points-per-game along with shooting 88-percent at the free throw line and grabbing 5.4 rebounds-per-game. Taylor is also fourth in the conference in steals-per-game (2.17). Oliver Megins (19) and Jack Kelsheimer (12) combined for 31 points off of the bench against Mercyhurst. Megins shot 80-percent (8-for-10) from the field and for the season, he is ninth in the conference in defensive rebounds per game (4.67). As a team, the Falcons shot 92-percent from the free throw line. On December 19, NDC lost 88-63 to Gannon University. Parks led the team with 22 points and five assists. Megins again came off the bench and scored in double-digits, with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting. In the last two games of December, the Falcons shot a combined 47-percent (51-for-108), overall. On the season, NDC shoots 45-percent. Angelo Cugini is eighth in the MEC with 6.8 rebounds in conference games. NDC ranks 8th in Division II in three-point field goals taken each game (12.1) and are tied for 12th in three-pointers made (145). They are second in the conference with nearly 11 made threes per game and in assists with 17.2 per game.

Noting the Pioneers: Glenville State loss to the University of Illinois Springfield by a score of 93-69 on December 16. After trailing by just two points at the half, the Pioneers allowed 60 points in the second half and were outscored by 22 points. JR Kerr, who is shooting 61-percent this season, went 4-for-4 from the field, 3-for-3 from three point range and 6-for-6 at the free throw line for 17 points before fouling out. Darhius Nunn scored 15 points and Brooks Ely added 12 points and six rebounds. Nunn leads the team with 20.4 points-per-game, 3.7 assists-per-game, 14 total steals and is currently 10th in the Division II in total field goal attempts. On December 31, a three pointer by Dwayne Chastain Jr. with four seconds remaining allowed GSC to get their first win of the season, a 76-75 victory over Salem International University. Nunn scored 15 points and hit six shots in the second half, finishing with 17 points off the bench. Ely, who is second on the team with 10.1 points-per-game, added nine points. The Pioneers shoot 42-percent from the field, on average.

Noting the Bobcats: On December 12, West Virginia Wesleyan lost to Alderson-Broaddus University 68-59. Fred Brondsted (12) was the only starter to score in double-digits while Kevin Kangni (12) and Dusan Vicentic (11) both scored in double-digits off the bench. The Bobcats were outrebounded 42-23. Against Ashland University on December 18, WVWC lost 76-40. Nobody on the team scored in double-digits. Vicentic led the team by scoring eight points. The Bobcats are scoring the least amount of points-per-game in the conference at 69.5. Aaron Ariri is sixth in the rebounding category in the conference with 7.8 and sixth in defensive rebounds-per-game as he grabs 4.8 per game. Luke Layhew is fifth in the MEC with 5.33 defensive rebounds per game. West Virginia Wesleyan leads the conference in defensive rebounds per game with 28.7.