FAIRMONT, W.Va. -- The No. 21-ranked Fairmont State men's basketball team will return to action on Wednesday evening for a top-25 matchup against fourth-ranked West Liberty. The game is set for a 7:30 p.m. tip as a part of a Mountain East Conference women's and men's doubleheader.

NOTE: As previously announced by the Mountain East Conference and its 12 member institutions, Wednesday's doubleheader will take place without spectators as part of the league's COVID-19 return to play protocols. All MEC events will follow the league-wide no spectator policy until at least Jan. 19, 2021.
 
Wednesday's top-25 showdown will be live streamed on MountainEast.tv and will include play-by-play from the voice of the Fighting Falcons Travis Jones and analyst Duane Cochran. Fans can also listen to live radio coverage on SKY 106.5 FM as Travis and Duane will bring you all the action from Joe Retton Arena. Live links for Wednesday's game are available above.
 
Fairmont State Men's Basketball Notebook

• Fairmont State enters Wednesday's game with an 87-69 all-time series lead over West Liberty. However, the Hilltoppers swept the season home-and-home with the Falcons during the 2019-20 season. West Liberty picked up a 105-99 win at the ASRC early in the season, before rolling to a 109-88 win in Fairmont last February.
• West Liberty enters Wednesday game with a 2-0 record after picking up a pair of lopsided victories over Notre Dame College (98-77) and Alderson Broaddus (123-73) during the first week of the 2021 season.
• Fairmont State also enters the game with a 2-0 record after picking up victories over West Virginia Wesleyan (110-85) and Davis & Elkins (87-70) to open the season.
• Through two games this season, West Liberty leads the country in scoring at 110.5 points per game. The Falcons currently rank third in the country at 98.5 points per game. In addition, through two games this season, the Falcons lead the country in rebounds per game at 58.5.
• Cole VonHandorf has led the Falcons in scoring in each of the first two games this season, including a 21-point, eight rebound performance against the Senators on Sunday afternoon.
• VonHandorf passed a career milestone during Thursday's season-opening win at West Virginia Wesleyan by becoming the 52^nd player in Fairmont State men's basketball history to surpass 1,000 career points. He passed the milestone on a 3-pointer at the 1:55 mark of the opening half.
• With his team-high 18 points on Thursday night coupled with 21 points in Sunday's win over D&E, VonHandorf climbed to 45^th in school history in career scoring with 1,036 points. He needs just 26 points to pass Kevin Claudio for 44^th on the all-time scoring list.
• In Thursday's season-opening win over Wesleyan, the Falcons shot 52 percent from the field and had eight double-figure scorers. FSU also made 10 three-pointers in the victory.
• In Sunday's win, Fairmont State used a game-changing 18-7 scoring run to pull away for the 17-point margin of victory. In the game, the Falcons struggled from the floor - shooting just 37 percent from the field and 5-of-26 from three.
• During Thursday's win, the Falcons improved to 12-1 under head coach Tim Koenig when shooting over 50 percent from the field (11-1 last season).
• Against Wesleyan, the Falcons also scored over 100 points in a game under Koenig for the fifth time in the last two seasons.
• On Sunday, Isaiah Sanders became the first Fairmont State player to record a double-double during the 2021 season with 17 points and 13 rebounds. His 13 rebounds against D&E set a new career-high for the junior.

 
Season Outlook

• Fairmont State entered the 2021 under second-year head coach Tim Koenig, who led the Falcons to their sixth NCAA Tournament bid in the last eight seasons in 2019-20. Koenig and the Falcons earned the No. 5 seed in the Atlantic Regional and were set to face Shippensburg in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament before the season was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Falcons ended last season with a 23-7 overall record. Koenig currently has a 118-95 all-time record as a collegiate head coach, including a 25-7 record at Fairmont State.
• The 23 wins by Koenig and the Falcons in 2019-20 are tied for the most by a first-year head coach, matching Jerrod Calhoun's total in 2012-13. The 22-6 regular season record was also the best in program history for a first-year coach.
• Fairmont State was picked to finish second in the 2021 MEC Preseason Poll that was announced last Wednesday. The Falcons finished second in the voting with 111 points and one first-place vote. West Liberty was atop the preseason poll with 121 points and 11 first-place votes.
• The Falcons have appeared in all six editions of the NABC Division II men's basketball poll this season. Fairmont State checked in at No. 20 in the preseason poll back in November, and comes into today's game at No. 21 in the latest edition of the top-25 ranking.
• This past Tuesday, the Falcons also jumped into the D2SIDA Men's Basketball Poll for the first time this season, checking-in at No. 18 in this week's voting.
• The Falcons returned four starters from last year, including the All-MEC duo of Dale Bonner and Cole VonHandorf. 
• A season ago, Bonner became the first freshman in league history to earn first team All-MEC honors to go along with freshman of the year accolades. Bonner was first on the team in scoring (17.8), assists (5.3) and steals (2.3) and second in rebounding (4.8) during the 2019-20 campaign.
• Bonner's 534 points as a redshirt-freshman were the fifth-most among freshman in NCAA Division II last season.
• In addition to his league honors, Bonner was also voted second team All-Atlantic Region by D2CCA.
• VonHandorf also earned first team All-MEC honors last season after finishing second on the team in scoring and first in made 3-point field goals.
• VonHandorf is currently tied for 9^th in school history with 143 career 3-point field goals and his .812 career free throw percentage ranks 8^th in FSU men's basketball history.
• Junior Isaiah Sanders also returns for the Falcons in 2021 after averaging 14.1 points and shooting 60 percent from the field a season ago. Sanders reached double-figures in 17 of the final 18 games a season ago.
• The Falcons will have to find a way to replace the production of Kenzie Melko-Marshall, who wrapped up his Fairmont State career in 2019-20 after an injury sidelined him for the 2020-21 season earlier this fall. Melko-Marshall earned second team All-MEC honors a season ago after averaging 14.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.
• Twenty-one of Fairmont State's 30 games last season were decided by a single-digit margin, including 11 that were decided by three points or less. In games decided by three-or-less points, the Falcons were 9-2.