This week: Notre Dame College men's basketball travels to Davis & Elkins College for their matchup on December 12, at 7:30 p.m. This weekend, the Falcons will come back home to battle West Virginia Wesleyan College on December 14, at 4 p.m.

Records: Notre Dame is 1-7 and they have an 0-4 record in MEC play. D&E enters the week 4-5 with a 2-2 MEC record. West Virginia Wesleyan has a record of 2-7 (2-2 MEC).

Coaches Corner: The three head coaches of these teams are in their first season at their respective schools. Mark Richmond is in his first season as the head coach of NDC, Daniel Mondragon enters his first year at D&E and Nick Patella is in his first campaign at the helm of W.Va. Wesleyan.

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

Series History: The Falcons won their only matchup with Davis & Elkins back on December 12, 2010, by a score of 75-71. Against West Virginia Wesleyan, the Falcons have a record of 7-6 since the 2012-13 campaign. NDC swept last season's season series with W.Va. Wesleyan.

Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame is looking to grab their first conference win after two close games last week. On Wednesday, Notre Dame led at halftime, 38-37, against Glenville State, shooting 58-percent through 20 minutes. Although the Pioneers came back and won the game by a score of 87-79, the Falcons still shot 52-percent in the second half and Larenz Thurman scored 20 points in the final 20 minutes. NDC then played Concord close, on Saturday, trailing by two points at halftime and had a chance to tie, down three points with six seconds remaining in the game. Levi Frankland, who is averaging 17.8 points per game, led the team with 20 points. This season, NDC, and the two upcoming teams on the docket (D&E, WVWC) have not been high scorers. Notre Dame ranks eighth in the MEC with 77.2 points per game, W.Va. Wesleyan is 10th at 74.3 points per game and Davis & Elkins is 11th with 74.2 per game. Along with nearly 18 points per contest, Levi Frankland is also shooting 50-percent from the field and 43-percent from three. DeAnthony Owens came back from injury, and in two games, he is averaging 16 points on 60-percent shooting. The third Falcon averaging double-digit scoring is Larenz Thurman (14.6). He is also averaging over four assists per game.
 
Noting the Senators: To begin the year, Davis & Elkins fell to tough non-conference foes Ferris State and Grand Valley State, who currently have a combined record of 20-2. In conference play, the Senators have picked up some solid wins as they enter their inaugural season in the MEC. They are currently the only conference team to beat Wheeling and they handed Fairmont State their first loss of 2019. In the second half of those wins, the Senators combined to shoot 32-of-51 (63-percent) from the floor and 10-of-16 (63-percent) from three. But, D&E is also the only MEC team to lose to Frostburg State after the Senators trailed for nearly the entire second half in that game. This season, D&E has been strong defensively and is tied for third in the conference, holding teams to a 45.3 field goal percentage. They are also third in the MEC dishing out 16.3 assists per game. But, they struggle at the free throw line, shooting just 62.9-percent, which is 11th out of 12 MEC teams. Donte Doleman is scoring 17.3 points each game and is one of three players to have, at least, 20 total assists. He's shooting 51-percent from the field and 48-percent from three. Erkam Kiris is leading the team with seven rebounds per game. He is shooting 53-percent while averaging 14 points.

Noting the Bobcats: West Virginia Wesleyan opened the campaign with five consecutive losses to non-conference teams, and just one of those deficits was less than 10 points. As wacky as MEC play has been so far this season, the Bobcats have picked up two conference wins, even with a tough schedule. WVWC defeated Frostburg State by 12 points, on the road, before playing three teams at the top of the conference. The Bobcats took Fairmont State down to the buzzer, before Isaiah Sanders hit a game-winner for the Falcons. West Virginia Wesleyan bounced back and handed nationally-ranked West Liberty their first MEC loss of the season. In the second half of that game, the Bobcats shot 80-percent and scored 68 points and came back from an 18-point halftime deficit. This season, Wesleyan is last in the conference in three-point field goal defense (.386), with 96 three pointers allowed. They do rank third in the conference with 7.44 steals on average, but opponents average 9.9 steals against them, thanks in part to the Bobcats' 16 turnovers per game. Five Bobcats average double-digit scoring, with Daylin Lee leading the way at 13.3 p.p.g. on 40-percent shooting, including 50-percent from three-point range. Dusan Vicentic averages 13.2 points on 43-percent shooting and has seven blocks. Luka Petrovic is scoring 10.3 points per game and is leading the team by averaging 5.3 assists and 1.8 steals.