Men's Basketball

Fairmont State Faces Road Test at West Liberty Wednesday

The Matchup
  • Fairmont State and West Liberty will meet for the 155th time on Wednesday evening as the 10-3 Falcons travel to the hilltop to take on the 11-3 West Liberty Hilltoppers at the ASRC. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m.
  • Fairmont State holds an 87-67 all-time series lead over the Hilltoppers, but have won just six of the previous 37 meetings dating back to 2004-05.
  • Fairmont State is coming off an 85-83 setback at Notre Dame College on Saturday afternoon. The loss snapped Fairmont's three-game winning streak that dated back to Dec. 17.
  • West Liberty enters Wednesday's game on a five-game winning streak, with their last loss coming back on Dec. 11 at the University of Charleston (83-73). In West Liberty's last five wins, the Hilltoppers are averaging 110.6 points per game – including a 129-point performance on Saturday afternoon against West Liberty.
  • West Liberty has scored 96 points or more in each of their 11 victories this season, including 10 scoring performances of 100 points or more. Both times West Liberty was held under 90 points this season, the Hilltoppers have suffered a loss.
  • The last time Fairmont State defeated West Liberty at the ASRC was on Feb. 14, 2008 (Valentine's Day) – an 88-79 victory under head coach Tim Murphy.
  • Dating back to the 2004-05 season, West Liberty has won 31 of the 37 matchups (including postseason) between the programs. Five of Fairmont State's six wins during that stretch came at Fairmont's Joe Retton Arena.
  • The teams have split the regular season home-and-home in five of the last six seasons, with the home team winning each of the contests. WLU swept the regular season meetings during the 2015-16 season.
  • Last season, Fairmont State defeated then eighth-ranked West Liberty, 106-104 at Joe Retton Arena, before dropping the last season rematch at the ASRC 96-85. In Fairmont's win over West Liberty on Dec. 9 in Fairmont, Jason Jolly banked in an off-balanced jumper with just over a second remaining to give the Falcons the victory.
  • Head coach Tim Koenig was victorious in his last meeting against West Liberty, leading his 2018-19 Notre Dame team to a 100-96 win over the Hilltoppers in last March's MEC Tournament Championship Game.
 
Noteworthy
  • Fairmont State has shot 50 percent or better from the floor in seven of its last nine games. Both sub-.500 shooting performances resulted in losses for Fairmont State.
  • Prior to Saturday's two-point loss at Notre Dame, Fairmont State edged Urbana in an 81-78 buzzer beater win on Wednesday, Jan. 8. Redshirt freshman Dale Bonner hit a half-court shot as time expired to give the Falcons the victory.
  • Bonner currently leads the Falcons in scoring and assists this season, averaging 19.1 points and 6.2 assists per outing. Bonner has scored 20 points or more in four of the last five outings, including a season-high 33 points against Glenville State on Dec. 15.
  • Bonner is shooting nearly 46 percent from the floor and 44 percent from behind the arc this season.
  • Bonner ranks 17th in the country in both assists (6.2) and steals (2.4) per game. Bonner's 6.2 assists per game average leads the Mountain East Conference.
  • Junior Cole VonHandorf is second on the team in scoring at 18.2 points per game, and has made a team-high 33 three-pointers this season.
  • VonHandorf has reached double-figures in all but one game this season, and has six 20-point scoring performances on the season.
  • Bonner has led the Falcons in scoring six times this season, while VonHandorf has led Fairmont in scoring five times on the year.
  • Kenzie Melko-Marshall is third on the team in scoring, averaging 15.5 points and 4.3 rebounds. Melko is currently shooting 48 percent from the field and is second on the team in 3-point field goals with 30. Melko has reached double-figures in five of the last six games, including back-to-back performances of 18 points last week.
  • Melko is also shooting a team-high 88 percent from the free throw line.
  • Fairmont State's 11.8 turnovers per game average ranks 32nd in the country and first in the Mountain East Conference. The Falcons also rank in the top 20 in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio this season.
  • Wednesday's matchup features two of the top scoring offenses in the country. West Liberty is second in NCAA Division II in scoring at 105.6 points per game, while Fairmont State ranks 21st in the country at 88.1 points per outing. West Liberty trails Nova Southeastern, who leads Division II in scoring at 106.6 points per game.
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Players Mentioned

Jason Jolly

#1 Jason Jolly

G
5' 7"
Sophomore
Dale Bonner

#4 Dale Bonner

G
6' 3"
Redshirt Freshman
Kenzie Melko-Marshall

#31 Kenzie Melko-Marshall

F
6' 4"
Junior
Cole VonHandorf

#2 Cole VonHandorf

G
6' 2"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Jason Jolly

#1 Jason Jolly

5' 7"
Sophomore
G
Dale Bonner

#4 Dale Bonner

6' 3"
Redshirt Freshman
G
Kenzie Melko-Marshall

#31 Kenzie Melko-Marshall

6' 4"
Junior
F
Cole VonHandorf

#2 Cole VonHandorf

6' 2"
Junior
G