Men's Basketball | 11/8/2018 5:59:00 PM

FAIRMONT, W.Va. -- Fairmont State men's basketball returns to Joe Retton Arena to host California (PA) on Friday at 8 p.m. on the opening day of the 2018 Joe Retton Classic, presented by McDonald's, the JW Ebert Corporation.
 
The action will begin at 6 p.m. Friday when Notre Dame College takes on Slippery Rock in a neutral site matchup at Joe Retton Arena.
 
Day two of the Joe Retton Classic, presented by McDonald's, the JW Ebert Corporation, will begin at 6 p.m. with Notre Dame College squaring off with California (PA). Fairmont State will wrap up the weekend's action with a showdown against Slippery Rock at 8 p.m. Saturday evening.
 
2018 Joe Retton Classic Schedule
Friday, Nov. 9
6 p.m. – Notre Dame vs. Slippery Rock | Live Stats | Live Video
8 p.m. – Fairmont State vs. California (PA) | Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio | Radio: SKY 106.5 FM
 
Saturday, Nov. 10
6 p.m. – Notre Dame vs. California (PA) | Live Stats | Live Video
8 p.m. – Fairmont State vs. Slippery Rock | Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio | Radio: SKY 106.5 FM

Men's Basketball Notebook

- The Fairmont State men's basketball program will return to in-region play this weekend after opening the season at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic last week in St. Joseph, Missouri. Last Saturday the Falcons dropped a 78-76 matchup against the defending NCAA Division II National Champions, Ferris State, before also coming up short against Missouri Western, 80-73, on Sunday afternoon.

- Jason Jolly was named to the SCB Hall of Fame Classic All-Tournament Team after averaging 24 points, 2.5 rebounds and two assists last weekend for the Falcons.

- Jolly also made four three-pointers in each of last weekend's games to become the school's all-time leader in career 3-pointers (223). Jolly passed Dan Bruner, who made 216 career 3-pointers for the Falcons from 2006-10.

- Jolly also went over 1,200 career points in his career during the Hall of Fame Classic and has now passed Matt Bingaya for 38th place in school history (1,240).

- Senior guard Vonte Montgomery is also closing in on 1,000 career points in a Fairmont State uniform. He needs just 69 more points to become the 49th player in school history to score 1,000 points.

- Montgomery is also just 27 three-pointers away from moving into the top 10 in school history in made 3-point field goals.

- In addition to Jolly's 24.0 points per game in the opening weekend of the season, Cole VonHandorf, Troy Cantrell and Montgomery also averaged at least 10 points per game last weekend.

- Fairmont State was picked to finish runner-up in the 2018-19 Mountain East Conference Preseason Poll, finishing just two points behind West Liberty in the preseason voting. The Hilltoppers received six first-place votes, compared to five for the Falcons.

- The Falcons also finished just outside the top 25 in the NABC Preseason Poll voting with 38 points. Clayton State (40) and Fairmont State (38) finished with the most points among the unranked teams.

- Fairmont State used a balanced offense a season ago with seven players averaging 7.9 points or more per game. Eight different players led the Falcons in scoring a season ago.

- The Falcons also took care of the basketball last season, ranking 13th in the country in fewest turnovers per game (10.3).

- The Falcons also ranked 17th in the country in scoring offense (86.7), 13th in assists-to-turnover ratio (1.48) and 14th in made 3-pointers (334) in 2017-18.

- Fairmont State has made four NCAA Tournament appearances in the last six seasons, including a trip to the Division II National Title Game in 2016-17 with a 34-3 overall record. The Falcons went 21-7 a season ago before being upset in the quarterfinal round of the MEC Tournament quarterfinals against Concord.

- Friday will be the 64th all-time meeting between Fairmont State and California (PA) in men's basketball, with the Falcons owning a 44-19 all-time record in the series. Fairmont State picked up a 102-93 win over California (PA) last season (12/16/17).

- Saturday will be the sixth meeting between Fairmont State and Slippery Rock, with the Falcons holding a 3-2 all-time record over The Rock.