This week: Notre Dame College plays West Virginia State University, at home, on December 5 at 7:30 p.m. The Falcons will then travel to play the University of Charleston on December 8 at 4 p.m., followed by a road exhibition game against Cleveland State University on December 9 at 1 p.m. NDC plays their final game of 2018 on December 15 against Gannon University, in Murphy Gymnasium, at 2 p.m.

Records: The Falcons are currently 6-2 and 3-1 in the Mountain East Conference while West Virginia State holds a record of 2-5 and 1-3 in the MEC. The University of Charleston is 5-3 (1-3 MEC) and Gannon has a record of 3-4.

Coaches Corner: Tim Koenig is the head coach of the Falcons and enters his sixth season with an overall record of 76-81 and 48-66 in the MEC. Bryan Poore enters his 19th season as the head coach of WVSU and he holds a record of 314-255. In six seasons at the helm of Charleston, Dwaine Osborne currently holds a 94-64 record. John T. Reilly is now in his 14th season as head coach at Gannon and has a record of 234-148.

Rankings: None of these teams are ranked in the NABC Coaches poll.

Series History: NDC is 8-4 all-time against West Virginia State and the Falcons are 2-8 against Charleston, since the 2013-14 campaign. NDC is 0-2 against Gannon since the two teams first faced off in the 2012-13 season.

Noting the Falcons: Last week, Notre Dame played back-to-back conference games for just the second time this season. They defeated Wheeling Jesuit University 83-72 on November 28. On December 2, the Falcons lost to No. 10 ranked West Liberty University, 103-93. Larenz Thurman had a career high 28 points against West Liberty and he totaled 54 points over the two games last week. He is averaging 21.6 points-per-game, while shooting 48-percent from the field and 46-percent from three. Will Vorhees had his streak of six straight games with a double-double in points and rebounds, end against West Liberty. However, he is still averaging 23.1 points and 10.4 rebounds. Vorhees is second in the NCAA Division II in double-doubles. He is fifth in the conference in points and first in rebounds-per-game. The redshirt-senior is blocking 1.43 shots this season, which is third best in the league. Isaiah Sanders (14.8) and Halil Parks (14.4) are also double-digit point-getters while Sanders is shooting at a 55-percent clip. NDC's defense has held teams to an average of 40-percent shooting, best in the MEC, and 34-percent three point shooting. The Falcons' offense is shooting 79.3-percent from the foul line, which is second in the Mountain East Conference. NDC is third in the conference in blocked shots, with 3.88 per game.

NDC History: Will Vorhees scored 15 points against Wheeling Jesuit last Wednesday and surpassed the 2000-point mark for his career. He is one of just four players in program history to score over 2000.

Noting the Yellow Jackets: Despite scoring over 90 points, twice, last week, West Virginia State went 0-2. On November 28, the Yellow Jackets lost to UVa-Wise, 105-92. Against Concord University, the Yellow Jackets fell 98-91, on December 1. However, Pat Johnson-Agwu scored over 20 points (21, 26) in both games and he averages 22.7 points-per-contest and is shooting 55-percent from the field. Coming off the bench in both games, Isaiah Noel averaged 17.5 points and 10 rebounds, last week. However, this season Noel is averaging just 7.6 points on 56-percent. Gus Stone is averaging 17 points-per-game over six games, while James Hagins blocks 1.29 shots per game, which is fourth in the MEC. WVSU has totaled 65 steals this season, while opponents have only 43 against the Jackets. The Yellow Jackets have had problems finding a consistent lineup, as nine players on their team have started at least one game. WVSU is second in the MEC with 4.43 blocked shots-per-game and first in steals-per-game with 9.29.

Noting the Golden Eagles: Just like West Virginia State, Charleston lost to Concord, 106-102, in overtime last Wednesday. Both teams scored 40 points in the first half of the game and 46 points in the second half. On December 1, the Golden Eagles faced off with UVa-Wise and won by a score of 83-71. Against Concord, six of the seven players who saw time on the floor, scored in double-digits while four players scored in double-digits against UVa-Wise. Drew Rackley leads the team with 23.4 points-per-game and he is shooting 52-percent from the field. Rackley is tied for second in the conference in PPG. Devon Robinson scores 15.4 points, on average, he leads the team by grabbing 7.9 rebounds and he has 19 steals on the season. He is second in the MEC in steals-per-game (2.38). Charleston is leading the MEC with a field goal percentage of 54.6-percent. UC outrebounds teams by 5.5 per game, which is third in the conference.

Noting the Golden Knights: Gannon has had a difficult stretch with three games last week and five games over the last ten days. On November 28, GU fell to Bowie State University, 56-47, at home. They went on the road and lost to Bloomsburg University by a score of 66-62, on December 1. On December 2, the Golden Knights snuck past Mansfield University, in overtime, 70-62. In that game, both teams scored 25 points in the first half and 32 points in the second half. One player, Victor Olawoye, averages double-digit points (11.4). Gannon has now had two games this season where they have scored less than 50 points. The team is only averaging 63 points this season, but they are holding teams to 62 points-per-game. And although the Golden Knights do not shoot the ball extremely well, their defense has stepped up and keeps opponents to an average of 37-percent shooting from the field and 29-percent from three point range.