This Week: Notre Dame College men's basketball hosts Frostburg State University, on Feb. 21, at 7:30 p.m. The NDC Falcons then travel for the final time this regular season by taking a trip to Fairmont State University, on Feb. 24, for a 4 p.m. start.

Records: NDC picked up an important upset victory over West Virginia State, on Saturday, and now sit at 12-11 on the year, with an MEC record of 7-10. Frostburg State is in a tough slump, losing 10 consecutive games and falling to 2-22 on the season. Against MEC competition, the Bobcats are 2-15. Fairmont State is 17-7, overall, with a 10-7 MEC mark.

Coaches Corner: Mark Richmond is in year five with the Falcons and has a coaching record of 61-67 (46-53 MEC). Zack Thomsen is in his first season on the sideline at Frostburg. Tim Koenig is currently in his fifth season at Fairmont, where he has a record of 102-35 (71-28 MEC).

Rankings: None of these teams are ranked in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II top 25 poll. Fairmont State is No. 9 in the Atlantic Region, according to the Division II College Sports Communicators poll.

Series History: Notre Dame has had a lot of success against Frostburg State lately. After losing two of their first three matchups to Frostburg, Notre Dame has won six consecutive games in this series. On Jan. 17, 2024, NDC played one of its best games of the year, setting a season-high in points scored (108) and field goal percentage (61.2-percent), with seven players scoring in double-digits in a 108-78 victory over Frostburg State.

Since their first meeting in Feb. 2014, Fairmont holds a 19-6 record against Notre Dame.

Noting the NDC Falcons: Notre Dame fell to No. 16 University of Charleston, 86-67, on Feb, 14. Andre Harris had 17 points and eight rebounds, while Devin Haid added 16 points, on 6-for-9 shooting from the field. NDC then upset West Virginia State, 96-91, as WVSU sat in third place in the conference standings. The Falcons led, 42-29, at halftime before shooting 56-percent in the second half to hold off the Yellow Jackets. Devin Haid scored 34 points with eight rebounds, making nine shots from the field and went 12-for-13 at the free throw line. That was most points scored in a game by a Falcon in the past two seasons. Andre Harris had 16 points, 15 rebounds and five assists. That was most rebounds by a Falcon in a game this season.
 
After averaging 25 points last week, Devin Haid is eighth in the MEC in scoring average (15) on the year, third in field goal percentage (48.8-percent), fourth in free throw percentage (83.9-percent), eighth in steals per game (1.4), 10th in blocks per game (1) and 13th in assists per game (2.5). Andre Harris is tied for fifth in the conference in rebounding average (6.8), 18th in scoring average (12.8) and 16th in assists per game (2.3). RJ Ogom is sixth in free throw percentage, at 83.6-percent. Gbolahan Adio leads the team, and ranks 12th in the MEC with 2.6 assists per game.
 
NDC ranks fifth in the conference with 82.5 points per game and is tied for fifth in three pointers made per game, with nine. The Falcons are now fourth in offensive rebounding average, with 12.7 per game. They rank third in assists per game (15) and fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.05). On the defensive end, NDC is third in blocks per game (4.26) and fourth in steals per game (7.48).
 
In the national rankings, NDC is 26th in Division II in blocks per game.

Noting the Bobcats: Frostburg State played well at home against West Liberty, last week, but fell by 10 points, 90-80. The Bobcats had five players score in double-digits, as Koby Baptiste led the way with 19 points, on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, and 11 rebounds. FSU outscored West Liberty, 50-41, in a second half comeback attempt, while shooting 41-percent from the 3-point land. On Saturday, Frostburg fell behind by 18 points, 40-22, to Wheeling at halftime, and continued to fall behind in the second half. Wheeling would win that game, 88-62. Robby Williams led Frostburg State with 12 points.
 
Logan Lewis leads the Bobcats by scoring 12.5 points per contest and he shoots 48.7-percent from the field. Koby Baptiste brings in 6.9 rebounds per game, which is fourth highest in the MEC this season. Jaylin Albury dishes out 2.1 assists per game.
 
Frostburg State is among the bottom two of the conference in points scored per game (73.3) and points allowed per game (89.3). They also trail the entire MEC in field goal percentage, 38.7-percent, and three-point percentage, at 32.7-percent. The Bobcats are being outrebounded by 8.6, on average, this season. Frostburg is No. 5 in the MEC, with 7.25 steals per game.

Noting the FSU Falcons: Fairmont State took down Wheeling by a score of 89-66, last Wednesday. David Jolinder made 10 shots from the field, along with four 3-pointers to total 26 points. Zyon Dobbs had 20 points, shooting 8-for-13 from the field, Cameron Whiteside added 12 points, while Seth Younkin contributed nine points and 11 rebounds. In the first half of the win against Wheeling, Fairmont shot 50-percent from the field and 53-percent from long range. On Saturday, a bad second half ended Fairmont State's chances at beating West Liberty. FSU and WLU were tied at 38 to end the first half. West Liberty outscored the FSU Falcons by 25 points, 47-22, in the second half, which led to an 85-60 final score.
 
The FSU Falcons have four players in the top 14 of the MEC in scoring, with David Jolinder (16.9), Zyon Dobbs (16.1), Cameron Whiteside (14) and Tommy Williams (13.3). Seth Younkin leads the conference by hauling in 7.7 rebounds per game and Jolinder is 12th, with 5.9. David Jolinder is second in the league in shooting percentage (50.7-percent) and Zyon Dobbs ranks sixth, shooting 46.6-percent from the field. Tommy Williams makes an MEC best 2.8 three-pointers per game, shooting 38.2-percent, ranking third in that category. Dobbs (4.2 assists per game) is fifth in the MEC in assists average, while Whiteside (3.3) is eighth. Both Whiteside and Dobbs have a 1.6 assist-to-turnover ratio. Younkin blocks one shot per game, ranking ninth in that category and Tommy Williams is fourth in steals per game, at 1.6.
 
Fairmont State only scores 81.8 points per game, but they rank second in the MEC in points allowed per game, with an average of 74 points. They are holding teams to 43.4-percent shooting, which is fourth-best in the conference, and rank third by averaging 8.17 steals per game. On the offensive end, the FSU Falcons are fifth in the MEC with a field goal percentage of 45.9-percent and rank sixth by shooting 34.8-percent from three. FSU takes care of the ball, ranking second in the MEC in turnover margin (plus-3.04) and third in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.28). They are third in the MEC with 8.17 steals per game.
 
The FSU Falcons are 27th in NCAA Division II with 9.7 three pointers made per game and rank 28th in turnover margin.