This week: Notre Dame College men's basketball will hit the road to play Shepherd University on January 17 at 7:30 p.m. and then they take on Fairmont State University at 4 p.m. on January 19.

Records: The Falcons are 10-4, overall, and hold a 6-2 MEC record. Shepherd is 9-5 (5-3 MEC) while Fairmont State currently holds a record of 11-3 (8-0 MEC).

Coaches Corner: Tim Koenig is the head coach of the Falcons and is in his sixth season with an overall record of 80-83 and he is 51-67 in the MEC. Justin Namolik has been the head coach at Shepherd for 10 seasons and coached SU to a 16-13 (12-10 MEC) record last season. Joe Mazzulla is in his second season as the head coach of Fairmont State. He holds an overall record of 32-11 and is 25-5 in the MEC.

Rankings: Fairmont State received votes in the latest NABC Coaches poll.

Series History: The Falcons are 3-8 all-time against Shepherd and 1-11 against Fairmont State since the 2013-14 season.

Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame swept their two home games last week, taking care of Glenville State, 109-81, and West Virginia Wesleyan, 73-61. Will Vorhees had double-doubles in both games, combining for 45 points and 24 rebounds. Off the bench, Drew Scarberry combined for 11 made three pointers and 38 points over the two games. Isaiah Sanders scored in double figures in both games. NDC shot 56-percent against Glenville State and 49-percent against West Virginia Wesleyan. NDC is currently second in the conference in scoring defense, allowing just 77.1 points-per-game. They lead the conference in free throw percentage at 79-percent and have two players in the top five in the MEC with Larenz Thurman (.875) and Isaiah Sanders (.873) ranking fourth and fifth, respectively. Notre Dame ranks at the top of the MEC in field goal defense, as teams are only shooting 43-percent on average. They are also second in the conference with 12.93 offensive rebounds-per-contest and rank third in blocks-per-game at 3.29. Larenz Thurman is fourth in the MEC with 4.91 assists-per-game. Will Vorhees is tied for second in the country with 11 double-doubles in 13 games played, he ranks ninth in Division II in points with 23.6 per game and is sixth with 10.9 rebounds-per-game. He ranks 12th in total rebounds (144) and 21st in total points (305). The redshirt-senior is second in blocked shots (1.31) and defensive rebounds (7.00) in the conference, while he leads the MEC in offensive rebounds-per-contest (4.08).

Chasing History: Drew Scarberry needs to knock down one three pointer to reach 200 for his career. This feat has only been done by three players in program history.

Noting the Rams: Shepherd played two games on the road and beat Concord by a score of 90-74 but needed a shot from Thomas Lang with 11-second remaining to beat UVa-Wise, 80-79. Shepherd was hot in the second half last week, shooting 60-percent from the field against Concord and 58-percent in the last 20 minutes against UVa-Wise. Thomas Lang totaled 57 points over the two contests, and knocked down nine three pointers against UVa-Wise which was one shy of the Shepherd program record. He was named MEC Player of the Week. Derek McKnight totaled 42 points and made 19-of-20 free throws last week. Shepherd has been staunch defensively. They are third in the conference allowing 78.2 points-per-game and rank second holding teams to a .429 field goal percentage. Shepherd also holds teams to a .326 three point percentage, which ranks second in the MEC. Derek McKnight has connected on 89 free throws which ranks him 13th in the nation and he is fifth in the conference with 4.43 assists-per-game. Thomas Lang is tied for 11th with 3.57 made three pointers per game and he is third in the MEC with a three point percentage of 43-percent. Winston Burgess is third in the conference in field goal percentage (66-percent). Burgess is fifth in offensive rebounding (2.91) in the MEC.

Noting the Fighting Falcons: Fairmont State has won three consecutive games after losing to No. 3 Indiana (Pa.) on December 14. Fairmont State won convincingly over UVa-Wise, 106-80, including scoring 50, or more, points in each half. FSU added 26 points off turnovers and led by as many as 37 points. Seven players scored in double-digits. Last Saturday, both Concord and the Fighting Falcons were receiving votes in the Division II poll. The game was tied at 77 at the end of regulation. In overtime, Fairmont State shot 86-percent from the field and 67-percent from three point line. FSU won the game, 93-83. Fairmont State is third in the MEC with a 48-percent field goal percentage and a three point percentage at 39-percent. Jason Jolly leads the team with 17.9 points-per-game. Jolly (.419) and Cole Von Handorf (.412) are sixth and seventh, respectively, in the MEC in three point percentage. Jolly has also make 3.71 three pointers-per-game, which is a third in the conference. Andrew Emrick is fourth in the conference with a 63-percent field goal percentage. Vonte Montgomery leads the team with 6.8 rebounds-per-game and 3.64 assists-per-game.